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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24429193">PARIS - TIVALI</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lecmat/pseuds/lecmat'>lecmat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCIS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:46:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>44,998</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24429193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lecmat/pseuds/lecmat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sahar is gone. There is nothing keeping her from being reunited with her family. She's ready. The doors of the elevator closed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>-“When will I see Ima ?” <br/>The little girl was holding flowers in her hands. She was hopping up and down with impatience. Tony looked at his watch and said:<br/>-“come on Tali be patient, I’ve already told you she’s gonna get out from there” he pointed at the arrival terminal doors. He whispered “you inherited that impatience from your mom for sure”<br/>Tony could not blame his daughter, he was as impatient as she was. He hasn’t been in contact with Ziva for month and he haven’t seen her for years. YEARS! Away from the woman he loves, the mother of his child and on top of that she had been in danger all this time. She could have died and he would probably not have been aware of it. Raising Tali on his own hasn’t been easy. He was worried about their reunion. Worried that things would be different between them. After such a long time away from each other it would be normal. Tony had changed and Ziva had too. Tony knew they would have to get to know each other again. But he was still Tony, he still loved food, movies and he was still the class clown who makes fun of everything. So maybe there was a chance that Ziva was still the same after all: the sexy, strong and independent ninja that he fell in love with. <br/>The door of the terminal opened and passengers walked out. Tali and Tony were looking for Ziva’s face. Tony was getting worried. What if she had not taken that plane at the last minute ? It was irrational, she would have told him. Finally she walked through the doors. Tali yield “IMA!” And rushed to Ziva with her flowers in her hands. </p>
<p>Ziva heart stopped when she saw the little girl. She crouched to hug her daughter. Tony walked to them. Ziva took Tali’s face on her hand to take a better look at it. She was so big, so beautiful. She was crying tears of joy. She unconsciously started speaking in hebrew. It was always happening when she was upset or like right now, overwhelmed by her emotions. She switched back to english: <br/>-“my baby! oh my god Tali, look at you, you are so big now” <br/>-“we missed you Ima”<br/>Ziva hugged Tali again and sobbed:<br/>-“I missed you too Tali” <br/>-“look these are for you ! Aba said you like flowers… I choose them myself” <br/>Ziva took the flowers and kissed her daughter’s forehead. <br/>-“thank you Tali, they are very beautiful” she glanced at Tony and said “Aba remembered my favorite flowers” <br/>Tony proudly smiled. <br/>After a long hug to her child, she looked up at Tony. He was smiling to her, happy to see that the strong bond between Tali and her mother hasn’t been broken after such a long time. She stood up, keeping Tali close to her. The little girl was looking up at her parents. Tony and Ziva were shyly smiling to each other. Ziva was still scared that things could be awkward between them. Tony talked first with his usual charming grin: <br/>-“hi…” <br/>Ziva smiled and tilted her head on the right side: <br/>-“hi…” <br/>Tony smiled too and cupped her face before kissing her softly. When Tali saw this, she immediately shouted a long: “ugh!!!!!!!!” in disgust. Her expression made Tony and Ziva smile and laugh. It was the first time that Tali was seeing her father kissing someone and she was pretty disgusted. Tony was still holding Ziva’s face. He looked at Tali and then deeply at Ziva and said:<br/>-“you gonna have to get used to this Tali, because it’s gonna happen again.. a lot” <br/>Ziva smiled and kissed Tony. <br/>After a long minute of kissing Tony whispered: <br/>-“come on let’s go home” <br/>Ziva was finally home. It doesn’t matter if it was in D.C or Paris, her home was where Tony and Tali were. </p>
<p>Tony opened the door of his apartment and stepped aside to let Tali and Ziva in. He smiled and said:<br/>-“welcome home” <br/>Ziva stepped inside and took a deep breathe. She looked around her. It was bright and beautiful. It was the perfect mix between modern and old design. She walked through the room and stopped in front of framed pictures. Mostly pictures of Tali. Some with Tony, some with Senior. Tali’s first day of school. Tali’s first time at the zoo, Tali’s 4th birthday. She was looking so happy. Ziva’s heart was broken by the idea that she missed all those crucial moments of her daughter life but at least she was strengthened by the idea that she had the best reason for that. She had protected her. <br/>Ziva looked surprised when she noticed a picture of her between Tali’s. The picture of her that Tony took on their first trip to Paris. Tony’s favorite one “because she was smiling”, as he said years ago. Tony stepped closer and said: <br/>-“you said it would look better in black and white, so I got it reprinted that way.. it’s still my favorite” <br/>Ziva fought the tears growing in her eyes. Tony turned to Tali: <br/>-“why don’t you show your bedroom to Ima ?”<br/>Tali looked excited and she grabbed her mother’s hand to lead her to her bedroom. </p>
<p>When Tony walked to Tali’s bedroom 15 minutes later, Ziva was sitting on Tali’s bed. She could not take her eyes away from her daughter. Tali was very chatty. She was showing Ziva all sorts of things: toys, clothes, drawing she had made for her. Tony leaned on the door frame to look at them. A tear rolled down Ziva’s cheek. A tear of joy and regrets at the same time. Tali saw it and stopped talking. She was confused. She walked to Ziva, touched her mother’s face with confused eyes and asked: <br/>-“are you hurt Ima ?” <br/>Ziva smiled and kissed Tali’s tiny hands. She wiped her tears away and said:<br/>-“I am fine Tali. I am just very happy to see you” <br/>-“why are you crying ?” <br/>Ziva pulled Tali closer to her and said:<br/>-“because when I left you and Aba, you were just a baby and now you are a beautiful girl. Sometimes grown ups cry when they are happy. It’s stupid I know but it’s like that” <br/>Tali laid her eyes on Ziva’s necklace. She grabbed it with her little fingers. Ziva was struck by her memories of when Tali used to touch it when she was a baby. <br/>She looked at Tali’s neck and noticed her Star of David necklace. She took it between her finger and said:<br/>-“see, I have yours and you have mine. As long as we wear them, we’ll be together, no matter where we are” </p>
<p>Dinner time. Tony, Tali and Ziva were all gathered around the dinner table. Tali was talking about her school and her friends. Tony discreetly turned to Ziva and asked: <br/>-“Was I that talkative too back at NCIS ?” <br/>Ziva smiled: <br/>-“you were worse than that. She definitely inherited that from you” <br/>Tony looked resigned and said: <br/>-“she got my talkativeness and your bad temper…” <br/>Ziva faked to be offended: <br/>-“My bad temper ? What bad temper ?”<br/>Tony turned to Tali and said:<br/>-“oh I see that miss Dinozzo forget to mention what she did to young Jeremy last week didn’t she ?” <br/>Tali shyly smiled, as a child who knew she had done  something wrong. Ziva looked confused and asked: <br/>-“What did you do Tali ?” <br/>-“I punched him in the face…” <br/>She was obviously not very proud of her action and certainly got lectured for her behavior by her father. Ziva looked at Tony with confused eyes and Tony asked: <br/>-“and why did you punched that poor Jeremy ?” <br/>Tali answered quietly: <br/>-“Because he said he wanted me to be his girlfriend” <br/>Ziva closed her eyes and bit her tongue to control herself but she really wanted to laugh which would have been very wrong for Tali’s education. <br/>Tony whispered: <br/>-“does that remind you of someone ?” <br/>Ziva could not disagree. <br/>-“alright alright.. maybe she got that from me…”<br/>They both laughed. Tony turned to Tali and said:<br/>-“alright Kung fu panda! It’s time to go brush your teeth and go to bed, go on” </p>
<p>Ziva was clearing the dinner table. Tony looked at her and said: <br/>-“don’t worry about this I’ll deal with that later”<br/>He knew she was trying to keep herself busy. He walked to her and grabbed her wrist to stop her. She made eye contact with him. A long and deep one. Tony looked at her wrist and saw the scar from Paraguay on it. He quietly said:<br/>-“I know you need some time but you’ll find your place Ziva. We’re gonna help you, me and Tali” he briefly paused “Gibbs told me about Adam.. I am sorry” <br/>A little voice raised from behind and surprised them: <br/>-“who’s Adam ?” <br/>Tony glanced at Ziva and looked sorry for her that she had to deal with that now. He grabbed Tali, sat her on the countertop and said:<br/>-“Adam was a very dear friend of Ima. He took care of you when you were a baby and he helped Ima to get you to me”<br/>-“where is he now ?” <br/>Ziva swallowed hard. Tony chose his words wisely and continued: <br/>-“He is gone but he’s still keeping an eye on you and Ima”<br/>Tali was trying to understand:<br/>-“Is he with saba ?”<br/>Ziva was surprised about Tali evoking her grandfather. She never thought that Tony would have mentioned him.<br/>-“yes, yes he is with Saba. They are both looking after you, but now it is late and I am sure that Adam and saba would like you to go to bed” <br/>Tony turned and placed his back in front of the little girl: <br/>-“get on board princess”<br/>The little girl laughed and got on her father’s back. He led her to her bed, Ziva following them with a smile. </p>
<p>Tony laid Tali down on her bed and caressed her face. He kissed her forehead and said good night. He stood up and left his place to Ziva. He told her to take her time and he left the room. When he came back 20 minutes later to check on Ziva who was still not back from Tali’s bedroom he found them both asleep on Tali’s bed. Tali cuddled up in Ziva’s arms. He smiled. He had been waiting to spend this night with her after such a long time away from each other but he was happy to let Tali have the first night with her mother. They both needed this. He switched the light off and closed the door. <br/>The next morning, Ziva woke up and looked around. It took her several seconds to remember that she was in Paris in Tali’s bedroom. She looked next to her and saw the little girl. She remembered that she was so tired last night that she fell asleep in probably less than 10 minutes. She carefully stood up and quietly walked out from the bedroom. She walked through the corridor and finally ended up in front of Tony’s room. She carefully walked in. She stood for long minutes next to the bed, looking at Tony. He was asleep and he was looking so peaceful. She slowly laid down on the bed, next to him and kept her eyes on him. She had been missing his face so much. A few minutes later, Tony moved his head and opened his eyes. He stretched his arms and looked at Ziva, surprised to see her next to him. He smiled with his not well awake face and said: <br/>-“is this a dream again ?” <br/>Ziva smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. After a long and tender kiss they broke the kiss and Tony whispered: <br/>-“no… it’s definitely better than my dreams”</p>
<p>Tony took Ziva’s face in his hands and pulled her closer to him. Small kisses turned into a passionate one, none of them wanted to leave the other one’s lips. Tony was slowly stroking Ziva’s back under her shirt. He was trying to control himself, but he knew that if she was continuing her kissing it would soon be difficult for him to stop. He did not wanted to rush her. He actually didn’t had time to go further on his exploration of Ziva’s body since Tali was now awake and she was heading to her parents bedroom, calling for her mom and dad. Tony broke the kiss and said: <br/>-“did I tell you that she is very good at choosing the worst timing ?” <br/>Ziva smiled and kissed him one last time. Tali pushed the door and stood still, looking at her parents with a wide and mischievous smile. Tony looked at her, Ziva still in his arms and opened them wider to welcome Tali: <br/>-“come on it’s family cuddle time !” <br/>The little girl rushed to them, jumped on the bed and cuddled up between her parents. <br/>Ziva was overwhelmed by emotions. She had been waiting for that particular moment for years. The moment when she would have nothing else to deal with than just enjoying time with her family. No more death, no more fights, no more bruises. Just the man she loves and her daughter. After longue minutes of kiss, hugs and tickles Tony asked Tali:<br/>-“Should we introduce Ima to our Sunday tradition ?”<br/>Tali smiled and shook her head vigorously. Tony looked at Ziva and said: <br/>-“alright ! Let’s make some waffles then !”<br/>It was their tradition. Every sunday morning Tony was cooking waffles for breakfast. He would have loved to have those kind of traditions with his dad when he was a child and he wanted Tali to have the childhood he never had. </p>
<p>During the afternoon, Tony and Ziva took Tali to the park. Tali was playing on the playground with other kids. Ziva was enjoying seeing her so happy and innocent. She was glad that her daughter would never experience what she suffered herself as a child. No bombs, no death, no family secrets. Nothing but playground, laughs and love. Tony and Ziva were both sat on a bench. Ziva asked: <br/>-“do you remember the last time we took Tali to the park together ?”<br/>Tony smiled a little: <br/>-“of course I do…the first and last time, right before you left…” <br/>Ziva closed her eyes. She had prepared herself for that. He had good reasons to blame her. <br/>-“Tony I am sorry that I left you the way I did. I wish there had been another way to do it. An easier one.. for both of us and for Tali. Facing her tears would have been too hard for me”<br/>-“oh yeah I know, it had been hard for me... she has been crying for hours after you left… but I am not blaming you Ziva” he placed his hand on her knee “I know you had to leave to protect us and for that you had to protect yourself...What happened in Cairo belongs to the past…” he paused and smiled “ except that she still really hates bandaids” <br/>Ziva laughed. Tony was enjoying seeing her smile and laugh again. He asked: <br/>-“you know what I regret the most in all of this ? I never got to see you pregnant, never seen your round belly, your deadly pregnant mood” <br/>Ziva pretended to be offended and said: <br/>-“my what ?” <br/>Tony laughed: <br/>-“oh come on be honest. I am not even sure I would have survived your pregnancy” <br/>Ziva thought about it for a sec. It was cute to hear that he wished he could have seen her pregnant. She shyly smiled and whispered: <br/>-“we’ll see...”<br/>Tony looked surprised by her answer. Was she really suggesting what he thought she was suggesting ? He was about to talk when Tali rushed to them. Tony grabbed her and said: <br/>-“see I told you, always on the worst timing” </p>
<p>The night had come. Tony and Ziva were both sat on the couch, looking at Tali. She was quietly drawing on the coffee table. Ziva whispered: <br/>-“you really did an amazing job”<br/>Tony smiled: <br/>-“it has not been easy.. and the hardest part is yet to come, she’s not a teenager yet” <br/>Ziva smiled too, it was as if she was realizing just now that she’ll have to deal with a teenager one day. Tony continued: <br/>-“can you believe that our baby will be 16 one day and she’ll probably hate us, like any other teenager” <br/>Ziva laughed: <br/>-“she’ll hate you, not me” <br/>Tony asked: <br/>-“me ? Why me ?”<br/>-“because you gonna give hard time to her boyfriend”<br/>-“ Her boyfriend ? There will be no other man than me allowed around her until she is 18, maybe more I am not sure yet..”<br/>Ziva laughed: <br/>-“she’s so gonna hate you for sure” <br/>Tony was picturing himself in an interrogation room with Tali’s suitor:<br/>-“I’ll be like De Niro in “meet the parents”” <br/>———————-<br/>[in Tony’s mind, firing the poor teenager with questions: what do you want from my daughter ? Where are you taking her ? What are your parents doing for living ? You gonna keep your hands in your pockets right ? You know I have a gun and I know how to use it. But my gun is not the thing you should be worried about… I have a wife… if you hurt her daughter you better leave this planet because she’s gonna find you…”]<br/>———————-<br/>Ziva laughed. It took Tony out from his thoughts. She never thought she could be so happy to hear about his movie references. <br/>Tony asked: <br/>-“tell me more about her “<br/>Ziva was confused, he continued: <br/>-“tell me about your pregnancy, how she was when she was a baby. Adam was there when you gave birth ?” <br/>He had said that with no anger in his voice. He was not jealous, he just wanted to know if Ziva had to deal with this alone. Ziva became more serious and said with a lump :<br/>-“no he wasn’t. He drove me to the hospital but I didn’t wanted anyone else to be there. If you could not be there, then nobody else could” <br/>Tony looked pleased and sorry at the same time. Ziva continued:<br/>-“She was such a joyful baby, always smiling… and very curious… she got that from you too and obviously she did not lose it. She has your smile, which makes it even more difficult to resist”<br/>Tony smiled and said with a charming voice: <br/>-“don't try to resist the DiNozzo’s smile…”<br/>Ziva laughed and then she became more serious: <br/>-“you know I wanted to tell you. I never wanted to take her away from you. When I discovered that I was pregnant it took me a lot of time to accept it. And when I finally did I thought it was too late, I thought that you had moved on from me.. from us”<br/>Tony stayed quiet. He just grabbed Ziva hand and kissed it. He had forgiven her a long time ago. Tali yawned. <br/>-“alright little one it’s bedtime” <br/>Tali protested, Tony looked at Ziva and said: <br/>-“and she is not 16 yet”</p>
<p>Tali had asked Ziva to read a story before sleeping. Tony was patiently waiting for her in his bed, playing on his phone. Once Tali was asleep Ziva joined Tony in the bedroom. He was already lying in bed. She stopped on the doorstep and leaned on the door frame with her arms crossed. Tony raised his eyes from his phone to look at her. They looked at each other for long seconds without speaking. They didn't need words. Looking at each other was enough. It was finally their time. Alone. Their own reunion. Nobody else to interrupt them (or at least they were hoping so). Tony put his phone away and held his hand out to Ziva so she would join him in bed. She walked to the bed, grabbed his hand and laid on the mattress next to him. Tony leaned over her, cupped her face and looked at her deeply. This face. He was still wondering how he could have spent so many years without seeing it, without kissing those lips. He was scared to speak. He placed his forehead on hers and whispered: <br/>-“I’ve missed you” <br/>Ziva stopped him from going further by putting a finger on his lips:<br/>-“shh..” she said. She kissed him tenderly and he answered with a kiss full of passion. His lips were soon exploring the crook of her neck while his hands were finding their ways under her shirt to caress her silk skin. Between two kisses Tony whispered “I love you Ziva” and those words made Ziva’s heart explode. She had been waiting for them for so many years. She needed more. She asked: <br/>-“say it again” <br/>Tony smiled, his lips still kissing her neck and he repeated: <br/>-“I love you Ziva David… and I’ll tell you that every day for the rest of my life”. <br/>End of chapter one.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the beginning of December. It has been a few weeks since Ziva, Tony and Tali had been reunited. Ziva was still trying to adapt herself to this new way of life. She was looking through the window, holding a cup of warm tea in her hand. Tony was out. She was alone with Tali. The weather outside was pretty cold and she was nervous. She was getting nervous every time Tony or Tali were away from her. The first time Tali went back to school after they got reunited had been a struggle for Ziva. Leaving her to strangers. She felt like she was abandoning her again. Tony had really helped her getting through this by keeping her mind busy and taking her to beautiful places every time her demon was too hard to fight on her own. She was now getting used to this and the panic attacks were less difficult to counter. Ziva was wondering what Tony was doing. He had been acting very strangely the entire day. Ziva heard the sound of a key unlocking the main door. Tali jumped on her feet and ran to the door. Tony walked in. He was dragging an enormous Christmas tree:<br/>-”Ladies, I give you: THE DINOZZO’S FAMILY CHRISTMAS TREE” <br/>Tali was hopping up and down with excitement. Senior appeared behind the christmas tree. Tali screamed: “GRANDPA !!!!!” And rushed to him. He caught her and hugged her. Tony was getting the tree inside the apartment, he stopped next to Ziva and gave her a kiss. Ziva smiled to Senior. He kissed Tali one last time and put her back on the floor. He paused to look at Ziva and opened his arms. Ziva smiled and walked to him to get a hug. </p>
<p>Before dinner they decorated the christmas tree. Tali was giving her instruction on where they should put the ornaments. Senior joined Ziva on the couch. They were both looking at Tali. Senior spoke first: <br/>-“she’s perfect. You and Junior did a really good job.”<br/>Ziva smiled: <br/>-“teamwork has always been our thing” she placed her hand on Senior’s knee and continued: “thank you for taking care of her”<br/>-“it must have been hard to be away” <br/>Ziva could feel the tears growing in her eyes. She was not ready to talk about it yet. She just smiled and answered: <br/>-“almost as hard as it was for Tony to deal with all of this alone”  <br/>-“He has never been alone, you were there, even though you were away. I spent some time with them at the beginning and there wasn’t a day without Tony mentioning you to her” <br/>Ziva was moved to tears. She thanked Senior and kissed his cheek, then she stood up to help Tony and Tal. Once the tree was all set Tony asked Tali: <br/>-“aren’t you forgetting something ?”<br/>Tali rushed out of the room and came back with the menorah. She gave it to Tony. He placed it on top of the fireplace. Ziva was touched by this gesture. She could not believe that even if she was not there all these years, he had maintained her traditions in her daughter’s life. Tony proudly said: <br/>-“I called Schmeil a few years ago to ask him about your traditions…I’ve just forgot how talkative he was. Now I know the entire timeline of jewish traditions” <br/>Ziva kissed him and whispered: “thank you” <br/>Tony then suggested to Tali:<br/>-“How about we take a family picture to send it to uncle Tim ?”<br/>Senior took a picture of them and Tony send it to Mcgee and Gibbs with a note saying: <br/>-“From our [reunited] family to yours, thank you. Happy Holidays. The DiNozzo-David Family” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tony, Ziva, Senior and Tali had been enjoying Christmas eve together. Tony and Ziva were slowly waking up. Ziva’s head was resting on Tony’s chest and her hand was on his abdomen. Tony opened his eyes and moved which made Ziva’s hand moved lower on his abdomen. Tony tensed up and said: <br/>-“if you keep your hand in this area, you gonna be in serious trouble” <br/>He felt Ziva’s hand sliding lower. He could clearly feel his body reacting to her hand so close to his manhood. She asked with an husky voice:<br/>-“really ?” <br/>Once her hand had finally reached its final destination Tony tensed up a little bit more and kissed her before saying: <br/>-“this is a declaration of war!” <br/>And he pushed her back onto the mattress to get on top of her. She laughed. Seeing her laughing was the most beautiful gift he could have asked for Christmas. He smothered her neck with kisses. When he came back to her face, he kissed her and took a moment to look at her face. The face of his partner, his best friend, his confidant, his soulmate. Tony was praying that Tali was still deeply asleep so that nobody could interrupt their moment together. <br/>An hour and a half later. Tony was stroking Ziva’s back. His other hand entwined in her hair. They were both enjoying this moment. The calm after the storm. This quietness didn’t last long as they heard screams getting closer to their bedroom. Screams of joy and excitement from a little girl who wanted to open her christmas presents. She opened the door and rushed to her parents bed. She was jumping out of excitement on the mattress and screaming “It’s christmas day!!!”. Cuddling time was over. They both got out from bed and walked to the living room. The room was filled with presents, mostly for Tali. Some were coming from Tim, Gibbs and Ducky. Senior was helping Tali with her presents. Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva’s shoulder, both looking at Tali with pride. </p>
<p>__________________________________</p>
<p>They had been reunited for 4 months. It was Valentine’s day and Tony had planned to take Ziva on a romantic date. He had asked his father to come to Paris to watch over Tali. It was time to go but leaving Tali was still difficult for Ziva. Tony was waiting on the entrance. Ziva was kneeled next to Tali and said: <br/>-“you listen to Grandpa ok ?” <br/>Senior answered:<br/>-“don’t worry we’ll be fine. Hurry up or you gonna be late” <br/>-“you call us if you need anything ok” <br/>Tony sighed and said: <br/>-“they'll be fine sweetcheeks don’t worry, right dad ?” Tony looked at his dad with insistence to make sure that Senior was capable of handling the situation. <br/>Senior nodded and said:<br/>-“of course! I can handle a 6 years old on my own! Come on Tali we gonna watch some movies and eat popcorns while mom and dad will be busy making you a little brother or sister” <br/>Tony shouted:<br/>-“DAD !” <br/>Senior walked away to the living room with Tali. Tony sighed. He could not believe what his father just said. Why does he always have to say awkward things. Tony turned to Ziva and said:<br/>-“sorry about that”<br/>She smiled in return. She was not offended by this. </p>
<p>Tony had booked a room in a luxury hotel. They were in the room, getting ready to go to the restaurant. Tony was looking at Ziva greedily while she was finishing to get ready. She was wearing a beautiful dress. He never got the chance to get used to see her in that kind of clothes since his only experience was one particular mission but the dress didn’t last long on her body. He asked: <br/>-“does that remind you of something ?” <br/>Ziva paused, looked intensely to him and said with a husky voice: <br/>-“I don’t know what you’re talking about… Jean-Paul my little fury bear”<br/>Tony smiled and walked to her. He placed himself behind her, grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her neck and said: <br/>-“our first undercover mission. You were craving for me...” <br/>Ziva feinted to be offended, she turned to face him: <br/>-“WHAT ? you were the one incapable of controlling yourself” <br/>-“how could I control myself… you were naked… and YOU are the one who jumped on my face and kissed me with so much passion” <br/>Ziva laughed. <br/>-“I was putting on a show, it had to be convincing” <br/>-“oh you really convinced me there Sweet Cheeks” <br/>Ziva bit her lower lips, kissed him and answered:<br/>-“yeah I saw that” <br/>Then she quietly asked:<br/>-“do you miss this time ?”<br/>Tony took a deep breath and thought about it for a sec:<br/>-“I would be lying if I was telling you that I don’t miss it sometimes. I miss the adrenaline but not the long hours of work without getting home. It was another life. I am glad I lived it but now I want to come home every night to you and Tali” <br/>He kissed her. The kiss lasted for too long to be innocent. Tony reached for Ziva’s dress. She tried to step back but he grabbed her waist and said: <br/>-“why don’t we skip the dinner ?” <br/>-“you are not hungry ?”<br/>-“oh I’m hungry but I don’t care about food”</p>
<p>Tony and Ziva were lying on the bed. Tony still on top of Ziva. He couldn’t stop kissing her. Ziva asked: <br/>-“will I ever be able to wear a dress for more than 10 minutes ?”<br/>He answered: “no… never” and kissed her passionately. He reluctantly left her lips to get something out from the bedside table. He said: <br/>-“close your eyes”<br/>Ziva was confused: <br/>-“Tony you know I hate that...” <br/>Tony cut her off: <br/>-“come on ! You trust me right ? Close your eyes.. ”<br/>She locked her eyes on his gaze, what was on his mind ? She had no idea but of course she trusted him. She finally closed her eyes and only reopened them after Tony asked her to. Her heart stopped when she saw what he was holding: A beautiful and shiny diamond ring. She remained quiet. Tony was examining her reaction. He finally said: <br/>-“I was planning on asking you after dinner with a cup of champagne and everything but.. obviously this didn’t go as planned. I know you probably thinks that it’s too early but we have been wasting enough time looking for each other for years” (“stupid rule number 12” he thought) “Now that we have found ourselves and we are finally reunited I don’t want to waste any minutes wondering if it’s right or wrong.. you gave me a beautiful daughter and I want to spend everyday of the rest of my life with you...I want you to be my wife…” Ziva raised her head from the ring to look at him. She was just looking at him, still quiet. Too quiet. Tony panicked, why wasn’t she talking ? She was not looking upset or nervous, she was just looking like she was waiting for something.</p>
<p>She was playing with him. Tony suddenly figured it out. He smiled and whispered: <br/>-“you want me to say it, right ?” <br/>A large smile appeared on Ziva’s face and she nodded. It was a pretty unconventional proposal but they were not a conventional couple. Nonetheless Ziva wanted to hear him say the words. Tony was relieved, he got on his knees on the bed next to her, he cleared his throat and said: <br/>-“alright then..Ziva David… Will you marry me ?” <br/>Ziva took a long time to answer. She was still looking at him with a wide smile. She got on her knees too to face him, still wrapped on the bed sheets, then she finally freed him and answered: <br/>-“yes” <br/>He looked almost shocked by her answer<br/>-“yes ?”<br/>-“yes!” <br/>He couldn’t stop smiling. He grabbed her and pushed her back on the mattress to kiss her until he could not breathe anymore. After long minutes of kissing and laughing Ziva asked: <br/>-“you know I’m probably gonna have to wear a dress…” <br/>Tony took some time to think about it and finally answered: <br/>-“the ceremony will have to be less than 10 minutes or it’s gonna be a very awkward wedding for all of our guests” <br/>Ziva laughed and kissed him again. She have said yes, even though she was still struggling sometimes with her demon, she knew she needed this. She needed this hope to be her shield against fear. Getting her life linked to someone was scary but she was not marrying anybody. She have said yes to a man who always protected her even in their darkest time. He always got her back and he had defied death to avenge her when he thought she was dead. Her future was getting brighter everyday thanks to him.</p>
<p>Later that day Tony send a picture of him and Ziva to the team in D.C. with a text saying: “She said Yes, I'm finally gonna make her an honest woman”. When she saw this Ziva head slapped Tony which made him complain just like old times.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>6 months has past. Ziva was now feeling like her life was back on the tracks for good. Tony had helped her see a brighter future. Him and Tali had been the lights that helped her get through the darkness of the past years. Tony was sitting on the couch, he was watching an old movie on the Tv. Ziva walked into the living room and sat next to him. She was getting back from Tali’s bedroom after putting her to bed. She was looking concern about something. She said: <br/>-“we need to talk about Tali..” <br/>Tony muted the tv and turned to Ziva without saying a word. Ziva continued:<br/>-“She is asking a lot of question about herself..” <br/>Tony was confused: <br/>-“what do you mean ?”<br/>-“She asked me question about her skin… why is her skin not as white as other children at her school ? Why are we not living in the same country as uncle Tim and her cousins ? Why aren’t we sharing the same last name ?”<br/>Tony said with his charming smile:<br/>-“we are working on that…” <br/>-“I tried to explain her but I think she is still very confused about all those questions” <br/>-“what did you say ?”<br/>-“I told her that one day we will take her to see Israel and D.C so she can see the lands from which she comes from” <br/>-“why not doing this now ?”<br/>Ziva was surprised: <br/>-“what ?”<br/>-“now is the perfect time, her birthday is in a few weeks.. we should take her to D.C. and Israel”<br/>Ziva seemed nervous. Tony grabbed her hand and said: <br/>-“it’s gonna be alright.. You said it, she needs it and so are you..” <br/>Tony was suddenly more nervous. He had something in his mind, Ziva could see it. </p><p>He leaned over her to kiss her neck. His hands caressing her face, her shoulders, her breast.. he stopped and whispered: <br/>-“I want another one…”<br/>Ziva was confused. As she kissed him she asked: <br/>-“what ?”<br/>Tony’s hand stopped on Ziva’s belly. He stopped his kissing to check her reaction when he said: <br/>-“I want to have another baby..” <br/>Ziva tensed up. Tony tried to reassure her:<br/>-“I know this is a big decision but Tali will be 7 soon, she’s not a baby anymore. If you need more time we can wait but you seemed to feel better so I thought...” <br/>Ziva stopped his monologue by placing a kiss on his lips. She was kissing him so strongly that it was almost painful. When she broke the kiss, Tony was still confused by her reactions. She still haven’t given an answer. She cupped his face and smiled: <br/>-“are you sure you can handle my “deadly pregnant mood” ?”<br/>-“well.. we all have to die sometime”<br/>Ziva laughed and kiss him again. Tony asked: <br/>-“I don’t want you to feel forced to do it…” <br/>-“I don’t… I just need some time to be sure that I am myself again.. I haven’t had panic attacks for months which is a good sign. Just give me some time and I can be ready” <br/>Tony felt his heart pounding through his chest. He smiled and kissed her passionately. <br/>-“Take all the time you need”</p><p> </p><p>A few days later. Tony was putting Tali to bed. He tucked her in and said:<br/>-“Ima told me about those questions that you have.. you wanna talk to me about it ?”<br/>She shrugged her shoulders to indicate that she wasn’t sure. Tony said:<br/>-“it’s ok.. if you don’t want to talk then I will do the talking, that is something the DiNozzo’s are really good at” he brush a lock of hair away from her face and continued: “you and your mom are the most beautiful things that ever happened to me. Your skin is the same color of the sand of Ima’s country, you have my hair and your mother’s eyes. You are looking more like your mother everyday and it makes me happy. You know that Ima and I, had to make difficult choices, right ? I told you about why Ima had to live away from us for so long.” Tali nodded. “I promise you that from now on, there will be no difficult choices anymore and we’ll stay together, Ima, Aba and Tali… and who knows, maybe one day you will be a big sister” <br/>He kissed Tali on her forehead and stood up. <br/>-“good night Tali, I love you”<br/>Tali answered with her tiny voice:<br/>-“love you Aba” <br/>Tony walked out of the room and closed the door, Ziva was waiting outside of the bedroom, leaned on the wall next to the door. She had been listening to their conversation. Tony was surprised: <br/>-“hey, you there”<br/>As only answer Ziva kissed him. It was a long and soft kiss. She was putting all the love she had for him in this kiss. She had been nervous about welcoming another child, until now. Seeing Tony taking such a good care of their daughter overwhelmed her. She knew he would be there to help her as he had been there to help Tali. She broke the kiss and said: <br/>-“let’s make a baby”</p><p> </p><p>3 weeks later. Gibbs stepped out from the elevator with his usual coffee on his hand. He stopped between Mcgee and Ellie’s desk and looked at his team. They were quiet, too quiet. Mcgee raised his head from his screen, smiled and greet him: <br/>-“Morning boss” <br/>Gibbs didn’t answer. Nick nodded to him with a smile. What the hell was going on here. He walked to his desk and stopped when he finally figured what they were hiding. He smiled when he saw Tali, sitting at his desk. He turned to Mcgee and asked: <br/>-“our new recruit Mcgee ?”<br/>Tali jumped from the chair and rushed to Gibbs. Gibbs lifted her up to hug her and Tony and Ziva appeared on the bullpen. Tony said: <br/>-“you should be proud Tali, you are the only DiNozzo ever allowed to seat at this desk without getting your head slapped” Gibbs looked at Tony with a smile, he was lucky that Tali was there otherwise he would have gotten that head slap. Tony smiled and said:<br/>-“Hi boss !”<br/>They shook each other’s hands. Gibbs turned to Ziva. It was a special moments for them. They haven’t seen each other since she left D.C after Sahar. He said: <br/>-“Ziver… you look fine” <br/>-“I am..” <br/>-“what are you doing here ?”<br/>Tony answered: <br/>-“We were missing those orange walls. We had this little family trip to Israel and since someone is getting 7 in two days, we thought it would be a good idea to stop by D.C before getting back to Paris.” </p><p>A few hours later. Ellie had introduced Nick to Tony. Tony said: <br/>-“yeah I’ve heard that your first meeting with Ziva was pretty physical..” <br/>Ellie said: <br/>-“yeah! He keeps telling everyone that he kicked the ass of the legendary Ziva David” <br/>Nick panicked and frowned at her:<br/>-“no wait! It’s not what I said, why are you telling them this…”<br/>Ziva interrupt him: <br/>-“Tell me when you are ready for a quick rematch “ass kicking demon”” She winked at him. He was a man who liked to be challenged but he was not sure this was really a good idea for his ego. Tony laughed and said to Ellie:<br/>-“20 bucks on Ziva..” <br/>-“you already won..” and she walked away.<br/>Nick complained and shouted: <br/>-“thanks for the support, you should be on my side!” </p><p>Mcgee came back with Tali. After taking her on a tour of the building. <br/>He stopped by his desk and said: <br/>-“and this Tali is uncle Tim’s desk but it used to be your dad’s desk. Go on, sit” <br/>She rushed to the chair and sat. Tony and Ziva walked in with Ellie and stopped to look at their daughter. Tony felt so proud to see his daughter sitting at this particular desk. <br/>Gibbs was also coming back to his desk. He looked at Tali sitting at her dad’s former desk. He walked to her and said: <br/>-“hey Tali, I have something for you. This is something special that only special people get to wear…” He placed an NCIS cap on Tali’s head. She took it off to look at it and put her tiny finger through the hole in the peak. Gibbs continued: <br/>-“this is not every cap.. This belonged to your father first, then he gave it to your mom..”<br/>Tali asked: <br/>-“why is there a hole in it ?”<br/>Gibbs smiled and looked at Tony:<br/>-“you will ask your dad about this” <br/>Tony nervously smile since he was the one who missed the shot and holed the cap. Gibbs placed a kiss on Tali’s forehead and walked to Ziva. He said: <br/>-“you did it. You got your family back”<br/>-“it’s thanks to you” <br/>-“your father would be proud”<br/>Ziva smiled. This little sentence meant so much to her. <br/>-“I wish he could have met her”<br/>-“he would have loved her. She’s a great kid” <br/>Ziva touched her ring, Gibbs look at it and said: <br/>-“you two came a long way since the first day you sat at these desks”<br/>-“and we still have a long way ahead of us… will you do me the honor to be by my side when I will walk down the aisle ?” <br/>He was the best person to walk her down the aisle. He has always been like a father to her. One of her biggest fear when she was an agent was to disappoint him. He taught her so maybe things about work, life and most of all about herself. He fought for her, he protected her, he saved her. Gibbs smiled and kissed her forehead: <br/>-“it will be my honor” </p><p> </p><p>Tali’s birthday<br/>Everyone was supposed to gathered at Gibbs’ house. Tali was playing with John and Morgan in the garden. Tony was finishing to get the food ready along with Jack. He looked at his watch. Where were they ? They should be here by now. He took his phone and dialed Ziva’s number:<br/>-“hey! Where are you, everything is almost ready”<br/>The door of the house opened and Ziva entered along with Nick, Ellie and Mcgee:<br/>-“here!” <br/>She hang up the phone. Nick was holding a towel on his face. Ziva smiled and asked to Jack: <br/>-“do you know if there is some ice we could use for his face ?” <br/>Jack asked worriedly:<br/>-“what happened ?” <br/>Ziva, Mcgee and Ellie smiled at each other but no one answered. Nick was clearly pissed, he said:<br/>-“go one make fun of me if you want, you know what ? I don’t care… I have been blinded by the sun”<br/>Ellie laughed: <br/>-“the sun…sure..” <br/>Tony turned to Ziva: <br/>-“I don’t need to ask who won” <br/>-“you don’t .. but he had been a good sparring partner, he fought well” <br/>Ellie was putting ice on Nick’s face and she was fighting the urges to make fun of him, just like Mcgee. Ziva kissed Tony and walked upstairs to take a quick shower. Tony was looking at her as she walked away and stopped his look on her curves. He would have loved to drop everything he had to do to join her upstairs. Once she had disappeared he turned his attention back on Nick and Ellie:<br/>-“I told you this was a bad idea.. a lot of people tried to defeat her”<br/>Nick asked:<br/>-“what about you ?”<br/>-“me ?” He laughed “I am not suicidal, I have spent years following the only rules you should know about Ziva David” Tony and McGee looked at each other and answered at the same time: “don’t make her angry” </p><p> </p><p>The rest of the afternoon went on. Tali spent most of her time playing with Mcgee’s children. The adults were all gathered around a large table full of food, talking about life and how Nick got his ass kicked again by Ziva. <br/>At the end of the day, Tony was sat on the couch. McGee joined him with two beers. He held one out to him and asked. <br/>-“so Anthony DiNozzo is finally gonna be a married man” <br/>-“Can you believe that ? I have never been more nervous in my entire life. Next to that, being kidnapped by terrorists in the desert was a cakewalk” <br/>-“you’ll be fine! You are marrying your best friend..nothing can go wrong in that” <br/>-“you’re right” Tony raised his beer and said “To marrying our best friends” <br/>McGee smiled, raised his beer and repeated: <br/>-“To marrying our best friends”<br/>Tony suddenly got more serious almost solemn and asked with a small smile: <br/>-“Will you be standing next to me as my best man Probie ?”<br/>It has been a while since McGee had heard this nickname. He was certainly not missing it: <br/>-“if you promise that you’ll never call me probie again.. it will be an honor”<br/>Ziva suddenly appeared with Tali in the kitchen. Mcgee asked: <br/>-“how is she doing ?”<br/>-“ah you know.. she’s the toughest woman I ever met. She’s doing better but the first weeks had been pretty challenging. She had nightmares and panic attacks all the time, we tried our best to protect Tali from that. We talked a lot, even though I know she never told me everything about what happened to her. That’s her way of protecting me I guess. And here we are, planning our wedding and trying to expand our family”<br/>-“what ? Really ? That’s wonderful”<br/>-“yeah but keep that to yourself ok…I am not even sure I am supposed talk about it”<br/>-“talk about what ?”<br/>Ziva’s voice made them startled. <br/>-“nothing ! We were just here, talking about..wedding”<br/>Mcgee nodded: <br/>-“yeah… wedding”<br/>They were clearly very nervous. Ziva threw them a suspicious look and smiled before walking out. </p><p>A few months later <br/>Tony and Ziva were back in Paris. The wedding was coming faster than they thought and there was still a lot to be done. It was Ziva’s birthday and Tony had cooked dinner. Ziva had opened her presents and they were now resting on the couch in the living room. Ziva called Tali and said: <br/>-“you know what we talked about a few days ago ? Aba’s gift ?”<br/>Tali suddenly seemed excited:<br/>-“go get it”<br/>Tali rushed out and came back with an sheet of paper. She held it out to her father. It was a drawing. Tony looked at it. He was a bit confused but he thank her anyway and took a look at the drawing. On the paper she had drawn her family. Tony grabbed her and took her closer so she could explain him what she had drawn: <br/>-“this is uncle Tim, here is grandpa and saba Gibbs. Here is auntie Abby” <br/>Tony asked: <br/>-“this is me here ?”<br/>Tali nodded: <br/>-“yes this is you and here it’s me, Ima and her baby” <br/>It took several seconds to Tony to really realize what Tali had just said. He stopped and asked: <br/>-“what did you say Tali ?”<br/>Tali looked at her mom for approval. Ziva smiled and nodded: <br/>-“this is Ima and the baby she has in her belly”<br/>Tony turned to Ziva in shock:<br/>-“really ?”<br/>She smiled wider and nodded: <br/>-“yes, really” <br/>Tony stood up and pulled Ziva from the couch to kiss her and hug her. It was Ziva’s birthday but he was the one who had received the most beautiful gift he could have wished for.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>3 weeks before the wedding - Tony’s bachelor party<br/>Everything was planned. Tony and Ziva were fixing the last detail about the ceremony. They had rented a house in D.C for a few weeks before and after the wedding. Tonight was Tony’s bachelor party and he was getting ready to leave. Tali asked:<br/>-“why do you have to go ?” <br/>Tony kneeled down before her and said:<br/>-“I told you, aba is gonna spend some time with some friends then we’ll see each other tomorrow ok ?”<br/>Tali was clearly not happy about the idea of not seeing her father for the rest of the night. Tony kissed Tali’s forehead and stood up. Ziva was leaning on the door frame of the living room. She said: <br/>-“Tali why don’t you go play in your bedroom.. I have to talk to aba for a minute” <br/>Tony winced and said:<br/>-“aba is in trouble” <br/>-“no he is not.. not yet”<br/>Tali ran away and Ziva walked closer to Tony. She stroke his chest and said:<br/>-“don’t drink too much out there.”<br/>He kissed her and answered:<br/>-“oh you know I will..”<br/>-“Yes I know…”<br/>The doorbell rang. Tony opened the door, Nick appeared and asked:<br/>-“you ready man ? Hey Ziva!”<br/>Ziva greet Nick with a smile. Tony walked back to her and kissed her tenderly. He said:<br/>-“you sure you’ll be alright ?” <br/>-“yes don’t worry about us” <br/>Ziva turned to Nick and said: <br/>-“you take care of him and you bring him back to me in one piece” <br/>Nick nodded: <br/>-“copy that !”<br/>Tony and Nick where about to leave when Ziva stopped them by saying: <br/>-“oh and Nick…. no strippers!”<br/>Nick’s smile faded away instantly. Ziva closed the door, leaving them on the doorstep. Nick looked worried, he turned to Tony and said: <br/>-“I am a dead man” <br/>Tony gave him a friendly tap on his shoulder and said:<br/>-“it surely won’t look good on the wedding pictures…”</p><p>His head was painful. Opening his eyes was probably one of the hardest thing to do at this time. He did it and looked around. He was in an hotel room. A pretty luxurious one. He had no memories of the last hours. He realized that he was lying on the ground next to the bed. He stood up and stumbled. The room was a complete mess. He looked at the bed and saw a human form on it. Nick. He walked to him and pushed him: <br/>-“hey!”<br/>No answer. He pushed him harder and shouted louder: <br/>-“hey!”<br/>As an answer he heard Nick groaning through the bedsheets. He was obviously in the same condition as him. <br/>-“Wake up Nick! Where is McGee ?”<br/>Nick raised his head and looked around to see that the room was a total mess. <br/>He sat on the bed and said:<br/>-“please tell me that I don’t have Mick Tyson’s tattoo on my face” <br/>Tony who was looking for McGee said:<br/>-“ah, movie references… You are good !… where the hell are McGee and Palmer ?!”<br/>Nick check his face on the mirror and answer: <br/>-“ah don’t worry I am sure he is probably down stairs calling his wife or something like that”<br/>Tony stumbled on something hiding under bed sheets on the ground. That thing groaned. They both looked at it. Tony carefully removed the bedsheets and said: <br/>-“found him”<br/>Tony helped Mcgee to stand up. Mcgee groaned and asked:<br/>-“what time is it ?”<br/>Nick grabbed his phone and said: <br/>-“we have a problem…”<br/>Nick stood up and showed his phone to Tony: <br/>-“it’s been two days since we left D.C” <br/>-“what ? No it’s impossible” <br/>Tony grabbed his phone and realized that Nick was right:<br/>-“25 missed calls. Ziva is gonna kill me. Find the autopsy gremlins I have to call Ziva” <br/>Someone knocked on the door. Tony sighed and angrily opened the door and said:<br/>-“raah what ?” <br/>Standing in front of them was Ziva and Ellie. </p><p>They looked very pissed off. Tony smiled and said: <br/>-“hey! I was about to call you… what are you doing here ?”<br/>Ziva and Ellie walked inside the room. Ziva looked around and answered: <br/>-“We have been looking for you for hours. What happened here ?” <br/>Ellie waved an empty bottle of whisky and answered: <br/>-“this happened”<br/>Ziva was so upset that she started mumbling in hebrew. Tony panicked even more: <br/>-“she’s swearing in Hebrew, that’s really not good”<br/>He walked closer to Ziva and grabbed her by the waist. He asked with a childish face: <br/>-“you mad at me sweet cheeks ?” <br/>Ziva was upset but she could not resist his smile. She sighed and answered: <br/>-“Don’t !”<br/>-“what ?”<br/>-“don’t try the “sweet cheeks” on me.. I'm pissed” <br/>-“I know, I am sorry, I promise I’m gonna make up for this”<br/>He kissed her. Ziva said with her lips were still on his: <br/>-“you know you gonna have to do better than that”<br/>Nick suddenly walked out from the bathroom, holding Jimmy to help him walk:<br/>-“found the autopsy gremlins. Ellie ? What are you doing here ?” <br/>He was so surprised that he dropped Jimmy who collapsed on the floor. <br/>-“oops sorry dude” <br/>He helped him to get back on his feet. Ellie was shocked and asked: <br/>-“oh my god Jimmy what happened to your hair ?”<br/>Jimmy was confused: <br/>-“my hair ? What’s wrong with my hair, let me see”<br/>They all shouted “NO!” to Palmer who was now even more confused. Nick advised him to rest on the bed and added: <br/>-“don’t worry about your hair it’s pretty….”<br/>-“Original” answered Ellie <br/>-“yeah, original, that’s the word” <br/>Tony was having a talk with Ziva a few feet away from them. Tony was seeking forgiveness from Ziva by putting on his most charming smile and husky voice: <br/>-“I am sorry. I didn’t wanted you to be worried. You ok ?” <br/>He placed his hands on her belly. <br/>-“I was worried. You know how hard it is for me when you are not around. You disappeared for 2 days.. I thought…”<br/>Tony cut her off before she could finish her sentence: <br/>-“hey I am here, I am fine..”<br/>Nick interrupted them by saying: <br/>-“and at least there was no strippers…” <br/>Tony, Ellie and Ziva frowned at Nick. He asked confusedly:<br/>-“what ?” <br/>For only answer he got a slap on his head by Ellie who said: <br/>-“really Nick ?” <br/>Nick stroke his head and complained: <br/>-“ouch, why did you do that ?”<br/>-“because this is what Gibbs would have done AND you deserve it”</p><p>Later that night. <br/>Tony and Ziva were back home. Ziva was lying on the bed. Tony appeared and leaned on the doorframe with his arms crossed to look at his future wife. She raised her eyes to him, trying to look as serious and annoyed as she could. Tony smiled and walk to the bed. He laid down on the mattress and started to caress Ziva’s belly. He spoke to it:<br/>-“hey you! I’m your dad! Your mom is pretty upset right now so I hope I’m gonna survive this and get to met you when you get outta here” <br/>Ziva couldn’t hide her smile. Tony continue:<br/>-“I’m sorry if I brought anxiety to both of you, I didn’t meant to and now little one please close your eyes because I am about to show your mom how much I missed her” <br/>He left Ziva’s belly to get to her face and kiss her. He caressed her hair and kissed her neck. He put his hands under her shirt to explore her body. After minutes of foreplaying Ziva knew he was aroused enough. She smiled and stopped him. Tony was confused. She kissed him and said: <br/>-“goodnight Tony..” <br/>Tony panicked:<br/>-“what ? No, don’t do that please, you can’t”<br/>She laughed: <br/>-“oh yes I can!” <br/>-“this is your way of punishing me right ?” <br/>Ziva bit her lip, she was enjoying this moment. Seeing Tony naked, aroused and desperate. She kissed him and whispered:<br/>-“now we are even !” <br/>And she turned her back on Tony. Leaving him frustrated and cursing Nick in his mind for making him drink so much. </p><p>The next morning<br/>Tony has been waiting for Ziva to wake up for more than 1 hour. She was still not moving.  He was looking at her, his hand on her belly. He slowly moved to place his head close to her belly and whispered: <br/>-“you have to be a boy. I’m gonna be very happy if you are a girl but I can’t survive having 3 girls at home. I need someone on my side”<br/>Ziva smiled and stretched her arms. Tony was surprised. He laid back on his back and said: <br/>-“morning sleeping beauty”<br/>She yawned and answered: <br/>-“morning..”<br/>He kissed her neck and asked: <br/>-“are you still mad at me ?” <br/>She took some time to think about it and answered: <br/>-“Let me see…I’m not sure…maybe...” <br/>He grabbed her waist and started an assault on her neck which he smothered with kisses. She burst into laughter until she finally admit her defeat:<br/>-“alright alright you won.. you won” <br/>-“Do you have any idea how frustrating this was ?”<br/>She laughed and answered: <br/>-“that was the point” <br/>-“You won't get off my hook that easily. A frustrated DiNozzo has no limit !” <br/>He resumed his kissing, very determined to remedy to the frustration he felt all night.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She was nervous. She never thought she would be in that position one day. This wedding was actually the first she attended to and she was the bride. She loved Tony and Tony loved her, she had no idea why she was nervous. People are usually nervous about being dumped at the altar but Ziva knew there was no risk of this happening. First because Tony loved her too much and second because he knew this would be like signing his death warrant. She hasn’t seen Tony last night and she was missing him. She was checking her dress in the mirror. She slowly rubbed her belly and smiled. Her 5 months old pregnancy was clearly noticeable through the fabric of her dress. She was now questioning all the choice she had made about this wedding. Her dress, her makeup, her hair. The door opened behind her and Abby and Ellie came in. When Abby saw Ziva she rushed to her and hugged her firmly. Ziva moaned. Ellie complained: <br/>-“Easy Abs! You gonna mess with her hair” <br/>Abby said: <br/>-“oh my god Ziva! You look amazing! That dress, your hair! Tony is gonna die when he’s gonna see you” <br/>Ziva smiled: <br/>-“I would rather not Abby!” <br/>Abby was not releasing her grasp. Still locked into her arm, Ziva tried to move her head to look at Ellie. Ellie asked with a benevolent smile: <br/>-“You ready ? Everyone is waiting for you” <br/>Ziva took a deep breath:<br/>-“I am”<br/>Ellie cleared her throat to get Abby’s attention.<br/>-“Hm.. Hm…” <br/>It didn’t work. She called quietly first: <br/>-“Abby…”<br/>Then she shouted: <br/>-“ABBY !” <br/>Abby jumped and turned to Ellie who gestured in to door direction and said: <br/>-“we have to go” </p><p> </p><p>When she walked out from the room Gibbs was waiting for her. He was pacing nervously through the lobby. When she appeared he froze. She was absolutely stunning. He had never seen her so radiant. She shyly smiled and walked to him. He took her hands in his and kissed her cheek carefully not to mess with her makeup. He never got the chance to walk Kelly down the aisle but he knew she would be happy to see him walking Ziva down the aisle as his own daughter. He looked at her with a lot of pride. They have been through so much together. Tears, blood, lose and pain. He wouldn’t be there without her and she would not be there without him. They have sacrificed a lot over the year and they were finally getting the reward for those sacrifices. They always had a special relationship. She was like a daughter to him and he was the father she never really had. Someone who cares, someone who protects her, someone she can count on. As he once said, family is more than just D.N.A and he gave her that family she ever wished for. People who care and protect each other, no matter what. It was finally time for her to be happy. A tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away and held his arm out. She grabbed it with a smile and followed him. </p><p>Tony was standing in front of the arch in a beautiful black suits. The arch was full of white flowers. The weather was sunny. The wedding was taking places in a beautiful garden in front of a lake. In front of the arch was standing Jimmy Palmer, ready to celebrate his friends marriage. Next to Tony was Mcgee. He glanced at Delilah and winked to her in remembrance of their own wedding. It was a pretty intimate wedding. Tony was nervous. He knew there was nothing to be worried about but he had never done this before. Abby and Ellie came back and smiled at Tony. He smiled back at them. If they were smiling then it was a good sign. Then Tali appeared holding a basket of flowers. She was scattering flowers on her way down the aisle. His first thought was that she was looking so much like Ziva. A mini version of his lovely ninja. Tony took a deep breath. It was happening, Ziva would appear any minute from now. Mcgee placed his hand in Tony’s shoulder as Ziva and Gibbs appeared. Tony’s heart stopped. She was beautiful. Mcgee leaned to him and whispered:<br/>-“you are a lucky man” <br/>Everyone stood up and looked at them as they walked down the aisle. Once they have reached Tony, Gibbs placed a kiss on Ziva’s cheek and held his hand out to Tony. Tony shook Gibbs’ hand with a proud smile. Gibbs gave Ziva’s hand to Tony and whispered: <br/>-“she’s all yours” <br/>-“thanks boss”<br/>He smiled at her. The only thing he could think right now was his will and need to kiss her. He felt like he was suffocating and the only thing that could help him to survive this was her lips. This would have to wait until she was finally his wife. </p><p>Tony was clearly intimidated. She was mind-blowing. He smiled and whispered: <br/>-“that’s a beautiful dress..”<br/>Ziva smiled in remembrance of their valentine’s day discussion about Ziva’s dresses that were not lasting long on her when Tony was around. Tony’s eyes were locked on Ziva’s. Those eyes have seen so much horror but right now the only thing Tony could see was tears of happiness. They couldn't stop smiling to each other like teenagers. They had both been very nervous about this moment but now that they were finally reunited this feeling had faded away. Jimmy started his speech. But they were too focused on each other to listen. He talked about the fact that he had been their confident for more than 8 years and that he had never seen two people so in love and so blind about it at the same time. They have been chasing each other for years and now they had finally found each other. Tali was standing with Ellie and Abby on Ziva’s side. She was looking at her mother as if she was the princess of a fairytale. Jimmy’s speech goes on and on when suddenly Ziva‘s eyes widen. She looked almost shocked. Tony was confused. He anxiously whispered: <br/>-“what’s wrong ?”<br/>-“it moved”<br/>-“what”<br/>-“the baby. He’s moving”<br/>Ziva grabbed Tony’s hand and placed it on her belly. It was the first time she felt it moving and she couldn’t wait to make Tony feel it. Jimmy, as the rest of the guests, was confused. He asked: <br/>-“something’s wrong ?”<br/>The baby kicked and Tony lost his mind. He shouted: <br/>-“I FELT IT!! MY BABY IS MOVING !! MY BABY IS MOVING GUYS !!” <br/>Everyone laughed and cheered. Tony asked Tali to come to place her hand on her mom’s belly. They really wanted her to be a part of every step of Ziva’s pregnancy. She giggled as she felt it kicking inside. </p><p>The ceremony resumed to where they left it before the kicking and it was now time for them to exchange their vows. Tony started first: <br/>-“I am usually pretty good at this. Talking is usually my thing but when I see you here, in that dress, carrying our second child I have no words to describe this moment. You were a stranger, you became my coworker, my partner, my best friend, my love, my soulmate, the mother of my child. You already are my future and today I am so proud to take you as my wife. From now on, I promise that I’ll always be that class clown that you love so much, I’ll keep on getting you mad with my jokes and I’ll keep on teaching them to our kids and I promise that I will only live by one rule: I will do everything in my power to protect you and our children and I will love you everyday for the rest of my life”<br/>Ziva’s eyes were full of tears. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She wanted to kiss him so bad. She cleared her voice and started: <br/>-“Tony. You have made me the woman I am today. <br/>You’ve taught me so much. You’ve taught me how to be myself, you’ve taught me how to be a good partner, you’ve taught me how to love but more important you’ve taught me about movies..” Everyone laughed. “you’ve made me a better woman, you’ve made a mother and now a wife. You’ve given me all the things I have stopped wishing for. You always had my back and you saved me in every way a person can be saved. I promise that I will keep on loving you even when you are driving me crazy, even when you are correcting my english, even when you act like a child. Tony DiNozzo I promise that I will always love you and I dare you not to make a movie reference right now” <br/>Tony smiled, he was really fighting the urge to make a movie reference. She knew him by heart and she herself used movie references in her wedding vows which was basically the most beautiful way of showing her love to him. </p><p>Their eyes were locked on each other’s. McGee who was in charge of the ring called Tali and gave them to her. She looked so proud when she walked to her parents. Tony grabbed Ziva’s ring and took a deep breathe. This ring meant so much more to him. He took her hand and slowly slid it on her ring finger. She did the same for him. Once the rings where in place it was time for the kiss. Tony and Ziva were smiling at each other, waiting for Jimmy to say the words. Tony and Ziva looked at each other both very confused that it took him so much time to say the words. Jimmy was just smiling and looking at his friends, enjoying the moment. He had clearly forgotten that he was the one in charge of the ceremony. McGee cough to make him come back to his sense: <br/>-“oh .. I am sorry guys.. you may now kiss the bride”<br/>FINALLY ! Tony grabbed Ziva’s face and kissed her. It was as if he had been crossing the desert with no water and Ziva’s lips were his oasis. <br/>As they were still kissing Jimmy said: <br/>-“ladies and gentlemen, friends and family. It is my honor to present you for the first time: Mr and Mrs DiNozzo” <br/>Tony took Ziva’s hand and waved it to the hair to show everyone that she was finally his wife. Everyone applauded and cheered. Tony grabbed Tali. He had now the two most important women in his life next to him. <br/>It was now time for the first dance as a married couple. Ziva was talking with Ellie and Nick when Tony appeared. He held his hand out to Ziva and asked: <br/>-“may I have this first dance Mrs DiNozzo ?”<br/>She stood up and followed him, her hand on his. They started to slowly dance, their eyes locked onto each other’s. Tony smiled and said:<br/>-“I have a wife”<br/>-“you have a wife and I have a husband”<br/>-“you have a pretty handsome husband”<br/>She laughed and gave him a gentle tap on his shoulders. He faked to be hurt and laughed:<br/>-“alright alright. Maybe I deserve that. How do you feel about being married to a guy like me ?”<br/>She took a second to think:<br/>-“I feel like a lot of women would kill to be at this place right now”<br/>He smiled and nodded. She continued: <br/>-“what about you ? How does it feel to be married to a girl like me ?”<br/>-“Scary..” <br/>She was about to punch him again when he stopped her: <br/>-“lucky! I feel lucky! I’m the one who got the chance to steal Ziva David’s heart. I even got the privilege to tell her that I am in love with her and didn't get punched for it… take that Shmuel Rubinstein”<br/>Ziva was surprised<br/>-“you remember his name ?”<br/>-“of course.. and you dare to complain that I never listen to you when you talk” <br/>She looked at him with eyes that meant that she clearly knew that he was lying. He finally admit: <br/>-“alright I wanted to use this for my vows I asked Schmeil about that boy’s name” <br/>They both laughed. Everyone in the room was looking at them with love, pride and envy. </p><p>Tony and Ziva were still dancing, the world around them had faded away. Jack walked to Gibbs and said: <br/>-“this is your moment..”<br/>Gibbs looked at her with confused eyes. She continued: <br/>-“the father daughter dance”<br/>Her cheesiness made him smile. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and walked to the newly wed couple. On his way toward them he grabbed Tali and whispered her something in her ear that made her smile. When Gibbs and Tali reached them, Tony and Ziva stopped and turned to face them. Gibbs gave Tali to Tony and took Ziva’s hands. Once again Ziva’s eyes where full of tears, she was trying her best not to let them escape. Ziva wrapped her arms around his neck and a tear rolled down her cheek. She would have loved to share this first dance with her father but he would have never been worthy of it. She had been broken is so many ways because of him and it was always Gibbs and Tony who have picked up the pieces to fix her heart. Gibbs had forgiven her after she chose to go back to mossad and she had forgiven him after he never tried to find her when they reported her death. No matter what obstacles they had to face, they never stopped trusting each other. This is what makes them a family, they overcame any difficulties by trusting and caring for each other. She was slowly moving with him and she was remembering all the things that made their relationship so special: ari’s death, Gibbs’ amnesia, Somalia… Her eyes then landed on Tony. He was slowly dancing with Tali in his arms. He was speaking to her and she was laughing out loud. She was looking so proud in her father’s arm. She kept her eyes on them and she knew. She knew that she had succeeded in giving her daughter the family she never had. </p><p> </p><p>Ellie was looking at the scene from afar. Nick walked to her from behind and made her startle when he said: <br/>-“happily ever after” <br/>She shyly smiled: <br/>-“yes.. it’s good to see them so happy after what they have been through. It gives us hope” <br/>Nick pushed her with his shoulder and said: <br/>-“you’ll find someone…”<br/>Ellie looked at Nick deeply. They stood for a long moment just looking at each other without saying a word. They were obviously questioning themselves to know if the answer was not simply in front of them. Nick broke the moment by saying: <br/>-“wanna dance ?”<br/>She kept her eyes on him and smiled: <br/>-“sure”</p><p>After the dance, Ziva walked away from her guests. She leaned on the fence and looked at the reflection of the moon on the calm water of lake. Tony stood still a few step away from her. He looked at her and hesitated for a few seconds. He knew her well enough to know that she was probably overwhelmed by her emotion and that she would not allow herself to cry in front of everyone. But she was his wife now and he was the one who had to be there to wipe her tears away. He slowly walked to her and grabbed her waist, they slowly rubbed his hands on her belly. Feeling him wrapped around her was so comforting. He asked: <br/>-“you ok ?”<br/>She threw her hand back on his shoulder and smiled:<br/>-“yes..”<br/>He did not insist. He knew she didn’t wanted to take about her feelings right now. He grabbed her hand and looked at her ring:<br/>-“this ring belonged to my mother. I wish she could have seen you today, in that dress, wearing her ring. She would have probably cried” <br/>He wrapped his hand on top of hers, both their rings shining next to one another. Tony said: <br/>-“we did it… we got a family for ourselves”<br/>They stood up like that facing the lake for long minutes before McGee came to look for them. The cake was ready and everyone was waiting for them. </p><p> </p><p>It was time to cut the cake. Tony and Ziva were standing behind their wedding cake. They both cut the first piece of cake and looked at their guests to let them have a beautiful picture of the newly wed couple. Tony smiled for the picture and whispered to Ziva’s hear:<br/>-“I know you’ll probably kill me for that…”<br/>Ziva was confused, she asked: <br/>-“killing you for what ?” <br/>-“for that”<br/>Tony put his finger on the icing of the cake and spread it on Ziva’s face. Ziva looked shocked. She was not expecting that. She had icing on her nose and mouth. <br/>She frowned at Tony, grabbed his jacked and kissed him to share the cake she had on her face. <br/>Ziva said: <br/>-“I’m gonna make you pay for that !” <br/>Tony innocently answered: <br/>-“come on, it’s a tradition” <br/>She frowned at him again while she was getting the cake away and Tony thought that she was incredibly sexy when she was frowning. He was about continue when Ducky cut him off by saying: <br/>-“actually, Anthony is right. In ancient Rome, a cake was often smashed on the bride’s head to encourage fertility”<br/>Ziva looked at her belly and answered:<br/>-“I think I am good about fertility Ducky. Don’t encourage him” </p><p> </p><p>Tony, Ziva, Tali and Mcgee were all gathered around the same table, eating their piece of cake. Mcgee asked: <br/>-“so where do you go next ?”<br/>Tony answered: <br/>-“we are going on our honeymoon and then we’ll have to focus on the next chapter of our life”<br/>He rubbed Ziva’s belly. Mcgee asked:<br/>-“do you want a boy or a girl ?”<br/>Ziva didn’t had time to answer. Tony immediately answered: <br/>-“a boy!”<br/>Ziva smiled and said: <br/>-“Tony is scared that he might not survive if it’s another girl”<br/>Mcgee smiled and asked: <br/>-“and you Tali ? what do you want it to be ? A little brother or a little sister ?”<br/>-“I want a sister, boys are dumb” <br/>Mcgee smiled and said: <br/>-“she’s a David” <br/>Ziva could not argue with that.<br/>Tony sighed, turned to Ziva’s belly and whispered: <br/>-“don’t listen to them, I got you. Please be a boy”<br/>Ziva smiled and ran her fingers through Tony’s hair. <br/>She love when he was talking to her belly. She could already see that there was a strong bond between him and the baby.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony was sitting on the couch of the luxurious suite. They were coming back from dinner. He was waiting for Ziva in the living room. He poured himself a glass of champagne and drank a sip. He had some remorse for a sec, knowing that he would be the only one of them to enjoy It. As he got bored he started to play with the set of champagne glasses in front of him. He piled them as an house of cards. Ziva walked out from the bedroom as she hang up the phone. She was about to give Tony some news about Tali but then she looked at the table in front of Tony and said: <br/>-“what are you doing ?”<br/>He turned to her as a child caught up doing a mischief: <br/>-“I am building a castle” <br/>She smiled and looked at him with her usual look that meant “really Tony ?”. She then said in a nonchalant way: <br/>-“I thought this trip was going to be about more ”adult activities” but go on… play with your toys” <br/>She knew how to provoke him. She knew how to make him lose control. He immediately stood up and walked to her. She acted like she was surprised: <br/>-“oh you don’t wanna play anymore ?” <br/>He didn’t answered. He just looked at her deeply and pulled her to him. She continued: <br/>-“If you are too busy playing with…”<br/>-“stop talking” <br/>She looked at him with her provocative smile and before she had time to argue his lips crashed onto hers. </p><p>Ziva head was resting on Tony’s chest. Tony was still trying to recover from their love-making. He always had that silly grin after sex. He was slowly caressing her back. He stopped his fingers on their way up her back and started to trace the letters of his name: T-O-N-Y. He finished his writing by landing a kiss on her shoulder. She smiled as she figured the letter he had written. She was his and he was hers. She was still very independent and he would never dare to think that he could decide about anything on her behalf. That’s what he loved about her, she has never lost her fire. He was still intimidated by her wild, dangerous and free spirit. He hoped that Tali would inherit that same strength. She laid on her back. He leaned over her and kissed her. He whispered “I love you” and she whispered those same 3 words to him. It was the first time it was just the two of then for such a long time. The last time they spent a few days together on their own away from everyone was when Tony found Ziva back in Israel after she resigned from NCIS and Tali had been the result of those few days away. When they were together it was as if the word has stopped moving. There was no time anymore. </p><p>During the afternoon Tony and Ziva were taking a walk. Tony was trying on some sunglasses. The sales assistant, who happens to be a very attractive woman, walked to Tony. She was obviously very interested by him and she was trying to flirt with him. A few years ago Tony would have probably jumped on this opportunity but he was a different man now. He was flattered of course but he was more worried by what Ziva would think if she saw him with that woman. She kept on flirting with him when he said: <br/>-“look… I am really flattered but as you can see I am a taken man” he waved his hand with his ring on it. <br/>The woman answered: <br/>-“I am not jealous…”<br/>Tony laughed and said:<br/>-“well you definitely don’t know what a jealous, jewish highly trained woman with impulse issues looks like. If you don’t care about losing a limb or any other body parts then she’s your girl” <br/>That’s when Ziva chose to show up. She looked at the scene of Tony speaking and laughing with a very sexy woman. She interrupted them:<br/>-“what is going on here ?”<br/>Tony jumped out of surprise and said:<br/>-“hey, sweet cheeks, you there ! I was looking for you !”<br/>-“really ?”<br/>She glanced at the woman:<br/>-“yeah! We were actually talking about how nice and friendly you are” <br/>The woman was clearly nervous about Ziva’s presence. She left them with a polite salutation. <br/>Ziva asked: <br/>-“so ? What does she really wanted ?” <br/>Tony smiled at Ziva’s cleverness and answered: <br/>-“it seems like your husband is still a very attractive man who gets advances from young woman” <br/>-“then my husband should be careful if he wants to keep his physical integrity” <br/>She glanced at his manhood and Tony swallowed hard. He smiled and grabbed her by the waist to land a kiss on her cheek.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ziva was in her last month of pregnancy. She has been pretty tired recently. They were about to leave for the park. Tony was waiting for Ziva in the living room. He was getting a little impatient when Ziva called him in the bathroom. He simply put his head round the door and asked: <br/>-“what is it ? We are waiting for you, Tali is losing her patience”<br/>-“the park will have to wait”<br/>-“wait ? Why ?” <br/>-“because my water just broke” <br/>Tony panicked and pushed the door wide open: <br/>-“what ?! Your due date is in more than two weeks”<br/>-“well it seems like our baby already has a strong sense of humor” <br/>Ziva was sitting on the edge of the bathtub. She was obviously in pain. Tony panicked even more: <br/>-“what should we do ? We are not ready”<br/>Ziva talked with a calm voice even though she was fighting the need to scream: <br/>-“yes we are. Stop panicking. Your dad is in town. Call him and tell him to come and pick up Tali. Then you will take me to the hospital” <br/>Tony repeated: <br/>-“my dad, Tali, the hospital, stop panicking, right I got this” </p><p>Tony walked in Ziva’s hospital room. He had just hung up with his father. He said:<br/>-“Tali’s fine. She asked me to tell you that she loves you. How are you ?”<br/>She was fighting the pain. The monitor next to her was beeping to indicate the rhythm of the baby’s heart. <br/>-“I am fine” <br/>-“of course I should have known you would answer that”<br/>The nurse came in and asked: <br/>-“how are we doing here ? How is the pain on a scale from one to ten ?” <br/>Ziva was having a contraction, she grabbed Tony’s hand and squeezed it strongly. Tony also fought the urge to scream when she squeezed it. Ziva answered:<br/>-“7”<br/>Tony looked at his hand and nodded: <br/>-“yeah definitely 7” <br/>The nurse asked: <br/>-“is this your first one ?”<br/>Tony said: <br/>-“second child, first delivery for me, long story” <br/>The nurse was confused but she didn’t asked more question. She turned to Ziva and asked: <br/>-“do you want the epidural ?”<br/>Ziva was panting:<br/>-“No! No epidural..” <br/>Tony looked surprised: <br/>-“what ? Are you sure ? I mean…”<br/>He was not sure his hand would survive a birth without epidural. Ziva was panting. She took a deep breath as she felt another contraction coming and answered:<br/>-“you do realize that it’s the second time I do this…”<br/>-“yes but the pain..” <br/>She cut him and answered: <br/>-“it only hurts if you let it” <br/>She grabbed his hand again and squeezed it. Once again Tony kept his screams inside and asked to the nurse:<br/>-“can I have the epidural instead please ?” </p><p> </p><p>Once the nurse was out Tony asked: <br/>-“are you sure about the epidural? I mean I know you are strong and completely capable of handling this by yourself but seeing you like this…”<br/>Ziva smiled and cupped his cheeks:<br/>-“don’t worry”<br/>-“don’t worry ? Of course I worry, I’ve never seen you like that before. I am totally freaking out. You’ve already been through all of this, I haven’t. You know how to deal with this, I don’t. I don’t know what to do. You are in pain and I am useless” <br/>She grabbed Tony’s face to stop him from panicking:<br/>-“you’re not. I need you Tony” she took a deep breathe to fight the pain and continued “I need you to be my rock ok ? I need you to have my back”<br/>She grabbed his hand again to show him that she needed him by her side to support her. He knew he had no right to complain or freak out right now, now that she was experiencing the worst pain a human being can endure for him and for their child. He had to act like a man, like a husband, like a father. He thought: “come on DiNozzo, pull yourself together man !” She needed him to be her partner again, they needed to work as a team again. He smiled and said: <br/>-“just like old times then. Come on let’s get this baby out” <br/>He helped her to get a better position and landed a kiss on her hand. </p><p>It was time for Ziva to give birth to this baby. She had been in pain for more that 4 hours. The heart of the baby was getting low and Ziva was out of strength. They had to get the baby out now for Ziva and the baby’s sake. Ziva was all sweaty and panting. Tony was still holding her hand. His other hand was caressing her forehead. He had been freaking out about the situation but he knew that Ziva needed him to pull himself together. He was whispering:<br/>-“you can do this babe… You are amazing… Just breathe… It will be over soon and we’ll hold our baby... Push…. I know it’s hard, breathe… I know it’s painful but you are stronger than the pain... I love you… I am so proud of you...”<br/>The love Tony had for Ziva was strongly increased as he saw her fighting and handling the pain like a warrior. <br/>One final push and they heard screams. Newborn screams. Their baby’s screams. For a second Tony thought that he was about to faint. The medical staff congratulated them but Tony couldn’t hear them. His mind was filled with his baby’s screams. They placed the baby in a towel on Ziva’s chest and finally announced what Tony have been waiting for: <br/>-“congratulations, it’s a beautiful boy”<br/>Ziva was crying, she was exhausted and the pain was still giving her hard time but she mostly cried because of the relief to see her child alive and well. He was finally out. Her fight was over. <br/>Tony kissed Ziva’s forehead and said: <br/>-“it’s a boy ! We have a boy!” <br/>He looked at their baby. He was still wrinkled and covered with various fluids but Tony thought he was the most beautiful baby boy he has ever seen. His son. <br/>The nurse asked: <br/>-“how are we gonna name this beautiful boy ?”<br/>Tony and Ziva looked at each other, smiled and nodded in approval of their final decision. They both answered: <br/>-“Adam” </p><p>The nurse took the baby away in order to make a full check up of the newborn’s health. When she grabbed Adam on Ziva’s chest she said: <br/>-“alright Adam, it’s time for your little check-up and time to give your mom some time to recover”<br/>Ziva grabbed Tony’s hand and said: <br/>-“you stay with him. I don’t want him to be alone” <br/>She was looking pretty nervous about being away from her son. Tony kissed her and said: <br/>-“don’t worry, I keep my eyes on him. Get some rest” <br/>Tony walked out without realizing the actual situation. Ziva threw her head back on the pillow. She was exhausted but most of all she could feel her panic attacks coming back. It hasn’t happened since a long time ago. But seeing someone else taking her child away from her had awaken some old trauma. She could hear his screams and seeing that nurse walking through the door with her son again and again. She felt dizzy, the room was moving around her. She needed them back but she didn’t wanted Tony’s moment to be ruined by her condition. She tried her best to control her anxiety so that when he comes back he could not figured out what was actually going on. </p><p>When Tony came back with the nurse Ziva was waiting for them. She felt relieved when she saw her son and Tony. She tried her best not to show any of her anxious feelings. <br/>Tony walked directly to Ziva and said:<br/>-“our son is fine! Strong and healthy as every DiNozzo before him” <br/>The nurse turned to Tony and said: <br/>-“take your shirt off” <br/>Tony was more than surprised: <br/>-“what ?”<br/>He turned to Ziva with confused eyes. She wanted to laugh. A woman was asking him to take his shirt off and she was smiling. Something was definitely wrong. The nurse repeated: <br/>-“come on sit down and take your shirt off. Don’t worry it’s not gonna hurt. It’s called skin to skin, it’s gonna help you bond with him”<br/>Tony was still pretty confused and he really wanted to make a joke about James Bond. He looked at Ziva as he was about to and she just said: “don’t !”. Damn she knew him too well. He looked frustrated first but then he said: “alright you know I can’t resist to a woman asking me to take my shirt off” and he took his shirt off and sat down. The nurse grabbed Adam and was about to place him on Tony’s arms when he freaked out: <br/>-“I am not sure, I mean… he’s so tiny…” <br/>The nurse laughed and turned to Ziva:<br/>-“those men, they always think that they gonna break them. Do as I say and everything’s gonna be fine” <br/>That lady was pretty authoritarian, she reminded him of one of his former teacher in school. Not his best memory. She placed Adam in his father’s arm and placed a hot towel around them. She gave him some instructions and finally left the family to enjoy this moment together. <br/>Tony was slowly getting more confident. As long as he was not supposed to move, he was fine. He actually felt like he was the king of the world with his son resting on his chest. Ziva was looking at them with eyes full of love and tears as Tony was whispering inaudible things to his son. </p><p> </p><p>A few hours later. Ziva was trying to get some rest. Tony was sat on the chair next to her. He was leaning on Adam’s hospital crib to get a better look at him. Adam was wearing the usual beanie and mittens. He was asleep in his bodysuit saying “tiny human inside” (Tony’s choice). Tony whispered: <br/>-“He’s so tiny. I can’t believe he’s here”<br/>Tony placed his finger in Adam’s hand and the newborn squeezed it: <br/>-“look how strong he is, squeezing my finger like his mother squeezed my hand. It’s still painful by the way” he paused and said: “You did an amazing job” <br/>She smiled and said: <br/>-“he did all the work” <br/>Tony smiled and said: <br/>-“you really have to learn how to take credit for yourself. I’ll teach you, young padawan, I am a master of this subject. I can’t wait for Tali to meet him”<br/>Tony paused and realized that he had been so focused on his son that he haven’t noticed that Ziva was not looking as good as he thought she would be. He asked: <br/>-“are you sure you’re ok ?”<br/>Ziva didn’t wanted to get him worried but obviously he knew her enough to see that something was going on. She said: <br/>-“yes, it’s nothing, just…” she took a deep breathe “when I saw that woman walking away with him, I felt like I was going through this again..”<br/>-“you should have told me”<br/>-“no, this is my demon, I can handle it on my own” <br/>Tony lift his hand and showed his wedding ring: <br/>-“you see this… it means that your demons are my demons. Let me help you Ziva. This time you have me, you don’t have to do this on your own… you are not alone” <br/>Ziva’s eyes were full of tears. Tony winked at her and wiped a tear away. She slowly smiled. Adam made a squeaky sound. Tony turned to him and grabbed him carefully, he placed him in Ziva’s arms and said: <br/>-“you have me, you have our son and tomorrow Tali will be there too and we’ll be whole again”<br/>Ziva looked at Adam and smiled. It would be different this time, she was not alone.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony was gone to get Tali and his father to the hospital. Ziva was feeding Adam. His eyes were locked onto her mother’s. He already had the DiNozzo’s signature charming look. She knew she would be in trouble trying resist it and she certainly knew his father would teach him how to use it. <br/>The bottle was empty, she looked at it and said: <br/>-“you also have your father’s and sister’s appetite. DiNozzo’s all the way”<br/>She placed him on her crossed legs and took his bib off. <br/>Tony knocked on the door and quietly entered. Ziva took Adam back on her arms and whispered:<br/>-“hey look who’s there”<br/>Tali rushed to the bed. Tony freaked out for a sec: <br/>-“easy, easy Tali. He’s a baby, I told you, you have to be careful” <br/>Tony helped Tali to get on Ziva’s bed so she could have a better view of her baby brother. She was marvelled by her brother. She was touching his skin as if it was different from hers. Tony said: <br/>-“his name is Adam, just like uncle Adam, you remember? We talked to you about him” <br/>The little girl nodded but never got her eyes off of her brother. Tony said: <br/>-“now give a kiss to ima, she missed you” <br/>Ziva hugged Tali as she landed a kiss on her mother’s cheek. Ziva asked: <br/>-“where is your father ?”<br/>-“he is waiting in the corridor, I wanted Tali to meet him first” <br/>-“let him in” <br/>Tony let his father get in:<br/>-“dad, this is your grandson, heir to the DiNozzo’s legacy.. Adam Jethro DiNozzo” <br/>Senior looked at the boy. He was overwhelmed with joy. He said:<br/>-“what a beautiful boy. I still think that Anthony would have suit you but..”<br/>-“DAD! We talked about this” <br/>-“I’m just saying, it’s only my opinion”<br/>Tony sighed: <br/>-“and we are very glad you shared it to us. His name is Adam and it’s suits him well” <br/>Tony was really pissed off. Ziva smiled, she was amazed by the fact that even in those moments they were always finding ways to quarrel. </p><p> </p><p>Adam was on Ziva’s arm. She smiled and said: <br/>-“I think it’s time for daddy to bond a little bit more with you” <br/>Tony looked confused but eager to discover what was coming next. Ziva held Adam out to Tony. When Tony took him he understood what kind of bonding Ziva was talking about. She looked at him with a mischievous grin. Judging by the smell it was diaper time. Tony cautiously followed every of her instructions. When he opened the diaper he said: <br/>-“oh my god! What are we feeding you. This is a crime scene.” <br/>Tali and Ziva laughed out loud. After a long a laborious work composed with: “no, not like that”, “on the other side, no the other side”, “there, you put this here” Adam’s diaper was finally changed. Tony looked so proud of his first diaper changing. He said: <br/>-“It’s not that complicated, I did most of it by myself” <br/>Ziva and Tali looked at each other and both answered: <br/>-“sure” <br/>Tony was offended:<br/>-“what ? Come on, you barely helped me” he lifted Adam in front of him and said: “come on tell them, you were the only one helping me here. We don’t need them.. we can handle it, just us boys” Adam winced. Tony was confused until the disturbing smell of poop was back again. It was Tony’s time to wince. He said: “you did not! Betrayed by my own son” He turned to Ziva and complained: “how many times does babies poop a day ?” <br/>Ziva smiled and stroke his chest: <br/>-“looks like he was not done the first time… go get him lion…” <br/>Tony winced again and grumbled: “tiger… not lion” <br/>Ziva triumphantly smiled and whispered:<br/>-“whatever” </p><p>Ziva was taking a nap. She was still recovering from the exhaustion of Adam’s birth. Adam on his crib, was starting to moan and gesticulate. Tony panicked. He did not wanted him to wake Ziva up. She needed and deserved some rest. He wanted to handle this by himself. He grabbed Adam and whispered:<br/>-“sh.. sh… it’s alright.. I am here… what do you need ? Are you hungry ? Yeah, daddy is hungry too..” <br/>He turned to Tali and whispered: <br/>-“ima has prepared a bottle for him, can you bring it to me ?” <br/>Tali grabbed the bottle and held it out to her father. Tony smiled and said: <br/>-“go on, do it” <br/>Tali hesitated for a moment. She did not wanted to hurt him or do something wrong. Tony encouraged her again and she finally presented the bottle to Adam’s lips. <br/>-“that’s it.. you see.. he was just hungry… we are getting good at this. We are a great team” <br/>He waved his free hand above Tali’s head so she could give him a check. She checked him and smiled. She was so proud of taking care of her baby brother. <br/>Once the bottle was empty Tony helped Adam to burp.<br/>He encouraged him: <br/>-“come on! You can do this !” <br/>Adam burped and Tali winced and said still in a very low voice:<br/>-“ugh!!! He is disgusting” <br/>Tony quietly laughed and proudly said: <br/>-“that’s my boy. DiNozzo all the way. You should really enjoy this time son, when I do the same, your mom give me a head slap” <br/>When Ziva woke up Tony was asleep in the armchair next to her. Adam was resting on his chest, Tony’s arms wrapped around him. It was the most beautiful picture she had ever seen. They both looked very peaceful. Ziva saw the empty bottle next to them and smiled. He had handled this all by himself. </p><p> </p><p>Tony received a video call from the team in D.C. He answered it and saw Tim and Ellie’s face on the screen. When they saw Tony’s face they all smiled and greet him. Ellie started first: <br/>-“hey you! Congratulations “daddy of two” !” <br/>-“Thank you guys!”<br/>McGee asked: <br/>-“how is Ziva doing ?”<br/>-“she’s fine. You know her, she just gave birth and she already wants to go running. she’s right here” <br/>He turned the screen to Ziva. She frowned at Tony and then waved at them. She was holding Adam in her arms and Tali was next to her. <br/>The team greet them both. McGee continued: <br/>-“hey girls! How are you big sister ?” <br/>-“fine uncle Tim” <br/>-“how is it to have a baby brother ?”<br/>-“he’s just eating and sleeping all day” <br/>McGee laughed and said: <br/>-“yeah just like daddy when he was working here…” <br/>Tony turned the phone back on him to argue:<br/>-“hey! I was a very capable agent back in the days, better than you McGeek”<br/>McGee complained:<br/>-“yes Tony we all know you were a good agent now please, it’s not your face that we want to see. Show us the new wonder of the world” <br/>Tony was falsely offended: <br/>-“alright alright.. get ready to have your world rocked guys” he moved closer to Ziva “ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Adam DiNozzo”<br/>Ellie couldn’t resist and said:<br/>-“oh my god he’s so cute” <br/>McGee said: <br/>-“yeah! I can’t believe there is a third male DiNozzo in this world”<br/>-“that’s right McGee there is a new DiNozzo in town and he actually already made a good impression on a bunch of newborn ladies at the nursery” <br/>McGee winced and said: <br/>-“oh my god this world is not ready for this, please Ziva make sure that Adam is not gonna become like him” <br/>She smiled: <br/>-“I will McGee” <br/>Tony said: <br/>-“it’s too late guys, she can’t do anything about it, it’s gonna happen” <br/>The conversation was going on and it was already time for them to hang up. Ellie asked: <br/>-“when are you coming to D.C, we want to see his pretty face in person”<br/>-“we come back in a few weeks, for thanksgiving, tell Gibbs that we’ll call him later” </p><p> </p><p>Later that day. Gibbs had been pretty busy at work. He entered his kitchen grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and then walked back to the living room. He collapsed on his couched and sighed. He took a sip of beer when his laptop dinged. The sound of a new email. He stood up and walked to the table in his kitchen. He pressed a key and his mailbox opened:</p><p>NEW EMAIL <br/>FROM: TONY DINOZZO <br/>OBJECT: A DINOZZO PRODUCTION <br/>Gibbs smiled and pressed a key again to open the file. A video started. <br/>Ziva was sitting on her hospital bed with Adam in her arms and Tali next to her. Tony was holding the camera. He turned to Ziva and Tali and said: <br/>-“hey boss, McGee told us that you were pretty busy with work so we thought we would sent you this little video, I don’t know if you’ll know how to open it but anyway.. here we are, and here he is, the new member of our team” Tony sat next to Ziva so that Gibbs could have a good view on Adam “this is Adam Jethro DiNozzo. We wanted him to have a special second name and what better name than the name of the man without whom this family would never have happened ?” Tony came closer to the phone and whispered  ”Also I wanted to prank him by giving him a name he will probably not be able to pronounce until he is like 10 years old.” Gibbs laughed. Tony came back to his original position and continued ”As you can see, he is pretty quiet now but trust me, his functional mute is not working as good as yours. We are all looking forward to present him to you in person at Thanksgiving. We will make sure everyday that he will grow up to be worthy of having your name. See you later Boss” They all waved at Gibbs and the video ended. He was touched by the idea that they had chosen his name to be linked forever to their son. He had always blamed himself for not seeing what was in front of him. It was good to see them happy. After everything they had been through. He missed them everyday. His agents, his children, his family. He had raised them to be better agents, better people. He knew what he had taught them would probably help them be better parents. He had left a pretty strong mark on their life.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Home sweet home. Ziva had missed the comfort of her home. She was so relieved to be out from the hospital. They could now start their new life as a family of four. Adam was asleep in Ziva’s arms. When they walked inside the apartment, Tali rushed directly to her bedroom. Hospital room were definitely not very amusing for a 7 years old. Ziva walked to Adam’s bedroom and lay him on his crib. On the wall on top of Adam’s crib was hanged a frame with one of Tali’s drawing. Not every drawing. It was the drawing that she offered to Tony to announce him that he was about to be a dad again. The drawing that announced Adam’s arrival in the family. Ziva looked at Adam and Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva’s waist. He kissed the crook of her neck and looked at Adam. They stood still for long minutes. <br/>Later that night. Ziva was lying in bed. Tony walked out from the bathroom, sprawled on the bed and signed. The day had been pretty intense and he was still trying to adjust to his new life with a newborn. Ziva was looking at him with a mocking smile. She asked: <br/>-“are you ok ?” <br/>-“I think I am dead on the inside” <br/>Ziva let a little laugh escape: <br/>-“you should get some rest, it’s only the beginning…” <br/>-“How did you managed to do this on your own ? I don’t get it” <br/>-“it has not been easy at first. Orli helped me a lot but Tali had been a pretty easy child to raise. She had been sleeping all night long practically from the beginning” <br/>-“she inherited that from me”<br/>Tony loved to hear Ziva talk about Tali’s first years of life and he never felt resentment on the fact that he wasn’t there. <br/>Ziva smiled:<br/>-“well thanks then” <br/>Tony raised from the mattress and kissed Ziva:<br/>-“you’re welcome, the pleasure was mine..” A mischievous smile spread on Tony’s face “Talking about pleasure…” </p><p>Ziva looked at him with a questioning look. Tony leaned over her and whispered: <br/>-“babies are sleeping in their beds… we have a few hours before Adam wakes up…”<br/>He kissed her and he obviously had planned for more than just kissing but Ziva stopped him right away: <br/>-“I thought you were tired ?” <br/>-“you know I am never tired for that”<br/>He continued his kissing but once his hand started to venture on her body she stopped him and said:<br/>-“6 weeks….” <br/>-“what ?”<br/>-“6 weeks without sex… doctor’s orders”<br/>-“what ? 6 weeks is a lot.. 6 weeks is more than a month… 6 weeks is…” he counts the days on his fingers then abort the idea and said: “I can’t survive this” Tony pretended to have difficulties to breathe “see I am having panic attacks too” <br/>Ziva laughed, leaned over him and kissed him softly. She winked and whispered: “you’ll be fine… think about the finish line”<br/>Tony collapsed on the pillow, dreaming about the moment they will be allowed to have sex again. He sat back and said: <br/>-“ok, if we can’t have sec, then there is some adjustment to make, starting with your clothes” <br/>Ziva looked surprised and offended<br/>-“what’s wrong with my clothes ?”<br/>-“they are overly sexy..”<br/>-“what ? I wearing a tank top and a pajama pants ! What’s sexy in that ?”<br/>-“I can see your skin… too much for me”<br/>-“Oh my god.. you are…” <br/>She stopped not knowing how to describe him.<br/>-“you have to stop using that voice too.. that husky, sexy, tempting voice”<br/>-“which voice ?? That voice” <br/>She put on her most sexy voice and leaned to him.<br/>-“stop.. stay away from me woman…”<br/>She placed her hand on his thigh and he surrendered: <br/>-“ok I’m gonna sleep on the couch”<br/>He stood up, grabbed his pillow and walked to the door, leaving a laughing Ziva on the bed: <br/>-“come on Tony ! COME BACK HERE! TONY COME BACK !” </p><p> </p><p>Ziva and Adam were back home for more than a month now. Ziva had been struggling with anxiety. It was happening at least once a week. The panic strike had started again after Adam’s birth. The only thing that soothed her crisis was to get some time alone with Adam in her bedroom. Tony and Ziva were trying their best to protect Tali from it but the little girl was not stupid. When Tony got out from the bedroom he crouched next to Tali and asked: <br/>-“are you ok ?”<br/>-“I wanna see Ima”<br/>-“not right now baby” <br/>-“why can’t I see Ima ?”<br/>-“because Ima is having some difficulties and she needs some time alone” <br/>-“is this because of him ?”<br/>-“what ? No, it’s not your baby brother’s fault. See, I already told you that Ima had some difficult choice to make when you were a baby and she is just scared that it might happen again”<br/>Tali looked shocked: <br/>-“Ima is scared ? I thought only children were scared” <br/>-“no Tali even grown ups are scared sometimes” <br/>-“even you ?”<br/>-“especially me. You should not be ashamed of being scared. Everyone has fears. You, me, ima, grandpa Gibbs. I am scared all the time. I am scared that something wrong might happen to you, Ima or your brother. What are you scared of ?”<br/>-“spiders and broccoli” <br/>Tony laughed:<br/>-“alright I feel you on the broccoli. Come on you should not worry about Ima. Ima is gonna be fine. We’re all gonna be fine”<br/>-“but Adam is not going anywhere right ? He’s gonna stay with us forever?”<br/>-“yes of course. Adam stays with us and Ima will get better. Ima always gets better. Wanna help me prepare dinner ?” <br/>Tali smiled and nodded vigorously. </p><p> </p><p>Tony entered the living room with an old dusty box: <br/>-“Look what I found” <br/>He placed the box on the coffee table and blow the dust away. Ziva asked: <br/>-“what is it ?”<br/>-“some old stuff I kept from D.C. Come here Tali”<br/>Tali sat on her knees next to the coffee table. Tony took his old mighty mouse stapler and showed it to Ziva: <br/>-“remember that ?”<br/>Ziva sighed: <br/>-“oh my god… how could I forget it..”<br/>Tali laughed: <br/>-“that’s for babies”<br/>Tony looked offended: <br/>-“hey! Show some respect, that stapler is not any stapler.. it never let me down, it was the only support I had when I was writing my reports” <br/>Ziva sighed again: <br/>-“Oh my god, of course it’s JUST a stapler. How many times did I dream about taking that stapler down your throat ! You were never letting anyone borrow it ! It was driving me crazy !”<br/>-“you and McGee were jealous and you never wanted to admit it” <br/>-“jealous of you stupid mickey mouse stapler ?” <br/>-“it’s mighty mouse..”<br/>While her parents were arguing over the stapler, Tali grabbed some pictures from the box. On top of it was the picture of Ziva with her fake belly. Tali looked confused and asked:<br/>-“is that me ?” <br/>She pointed at the belly:<br/>-“no baby this wasn’t real, it was just for work” <br/>Tony grabbed the picture and said: <br/>-“ah that picture! When I saw it, I knew your mom would make an beautiful mother”<br/>Ziva laughed and said:<br/>-“stop it!” <br/>-“what ? It’s true. Can you imagine if we have had a baby back in NCIS ? Little DiNozzo’s running around in the bullpen”<br/>-“would you have let them play with your stapler ?”<br/>Tony pressed the stapler against his chest:<br/>-“Never, it’s mine” <br/>Tali looked at her dad with pleading eyes. Tony tried to resist but the little girl knew exactly how to make her dad give up. Tony sighed: <br/>-“alright fine you can have it…” <br/>Tali grabbed the stapler and smiled victoriously. Ziva mocked him: <br/>-“very impressive demonstration of your parental authority”<br/>Tony frowned: <br/>-“don’t laugh ok. What is she even gonna do with a stapler” </p><p>Tali looked at the next picture:<br/>-“who’s that ?”<br/>She turned the picture so that Tony could take a look. <br/>-“that’s Kate, she was my friend before Ima” <br/>-“she was your girlfriend ?”<br/>Tony laughed: <br/>-“no, no Tali, she was not my girlfriend. Just my friend, a very, very close friend. She was like a sister to me”<br/>-“where is she now ?”<br/>Tony took a moment before answering. Ziva gently caressed the back of his neck. She definitely knew that it was hard for him. He looked at her and smiled: <br/>-“she is gone now.. but as long as I keep remembering her it’s like she’s still there with us. I really wished she could have met you. She would have loved you”<br/>Tali searched through the box and took out some of Gibbs old medals. Tony took a look at them and smiled in remembrance of the time he used to collect them for his boss. Tali took a piece of paper and tried to read some of the hand written lines on it: <br/>-“discover the meaning of life...catch a shark...kick Mcgee’s butt at some video games… what is this ?”<br/>Tony looked nostalgic and answered: <br/>-“this, my dear, is what we call a bucket list. It’s a list of things that I want to do before I am too old”<br/>He grabbed the piece of paper and started reading it:<br/>-“ah look, I can remove some of those: like “date a bond girl” he smirked at Ziva and continued “I have found my bond girl” <br/>Ziva smiled and took the paper from Tony’s hands. She started reading it: <br/>-“learn to play the bass, experience a Wonder of the world (besides Gibbs), create DiNozzo coat of arms…”<br/>After a few seconds she glanced back at Tony and whispered: <br/>-“number 26: tell her ?” <br/>She looked at Tony with a questioning and amused look. He smiled charmingly and said: <br/>-“I guess we can remove that one too” </p><p> </p><p>Tony, Ziva, Tali and Adam where all gathered in the kitchen for diner. Tony was taking care of Adam. Ziva was trying to explain to Tali that no she could not put a dress on Adam and play with him like he is one of her doll even though she promised to be extra careful. <br/>Tony tried to hide his smile but he couldn’t resist and quietly laughed. Ziva frowned to him: <br/>-“don’t laugh, this comes from the DiNozzo’s genes not the David’s” <br/>Tony turned to her, shocked: <br/>-“oh really ??”<br/>-“yes, this can only be the result of your troubled genes”<br/>-“oh excuse me ”miss flawless genes” I haven’t realized that my genes had been really disturbing you the last time I checked” <br/>He pointed at Adam, meaning that even thought his genes were supposedly a problem, she still agreed to have another child with those same genes. Ziva smiled, she loved when they were arguing like children, it was dragging her back into the bullpen years ago and he obviously loved that too. It was amazing how things hasn't changed between them. They were still Tony and Ziva, fighting like children, flirting like teenagers and protecting each other like siblings. <br/>Tony was about to continue when Adam regurgitate his food. Tony turned back to him and sighed. Tony looked back at Ziva and quietly said: <br/>-“I guess this comes from my genes too ?”<br/>An amused smile spread on her face and she moved to get a towel. She stopped next to Tony, kissed him softly and whispered: “I love your genes” </p><p>The dinner resumed and once Tali was busy eating her dessert Ziva said to Tony: <br/>-“I had my appointment today..” <br/>Tony answered without really realizing what she actually meant:<br/>-“oh yeah your appointment how did it go ?”<br/>Ziva smiled, he clearly had no idea what she meant. She insisted: <br/>-“Tony… my six weeks appointment…”<br/>Tony was about to take a bite in his dessert when it strikes him. He stopped his movement, his mouth opened with his dessert right in front of it:<br/>-“six weeks like ? Six weeks ?”<br/>Ziva smiled at this codename use and nodded: <br/>-“yeah six weeks is over” <br/>Tony let the piece of cake fall into his plate and said to Tali: <br/>-“Alright chipmunk it’s bedtime, kiss your mom and your brother and go brush your teeth” <br/>Tali complained that she wanted to stay and watch a movie but Tony argued that there was no movie on school night and he kept for himself that he actually had something else in mind than watching movies. Ziva grabbed Adam who was already falling asleep and walked to his bedroom. </p><p> </p><p>Ziva walked out from Adam’s bedroom and closed the door carefully not to wake him up. At the same moment Tony walked out from Tali’s bedroom and closed the door. Each of them were now facing the other from one end of the corridor. They looked at each other pretty seriously, like cowboys ready to shoot each other. They were defying each other. Tony was the first one to crack a smile, he could not hold it anymore. He rushed to Ziva and lifted her up on his shoulder. Ziva burst out laughing. Tony rushed to their bedroom with Ziva still on his shoulder and laid her down on the mattress. He position himself on top of her and took a minute to just look at her still laughing face. He was already imagining all the things that were about to happen. He had 6 weeks to make up for. 6 weeks of only foreplays, 6 weeks of sleeping against that body every night without being able to let his fantasy express. She giggled again and looked at him with her usual defying look. It was too much for him. He moved forward and captured her lips with his, his tongue begging for entrance, eager to feel the softness of her tongue entwined with his. They were both fighting for dominance. She preferred to be on top and he actually like it too but this time there was no way he would let her take full control. He was leading this and she would be at his mercy all night long. He moved his mouth to the crook of her neck, GOD he loved her neck. He kissed her there for long minutes, no doubt that it would leave marks on her. His mark. This idea turned him on even more, if it was even possible. He added his hands to intensify the work of his mouth on her body. His hands found their way up her body, under her tank top to finally end up on her breasts. Ziva moaned at his perfect touch, she grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it up. Tony moved back from her for a second to help her and resumed to his previous position, those few seconds away from her had felt like an eternity to him. </p><p>A few minutes later, her top followed his, then their pants and in less than a minutes their were both naked. Tony took a second to look at her body. She looked ashamed for a second, ashamed that it was not as perfect as it use to be. Tony caught that expression on her face and decided to show her that her body was still perfect even though it was still carrying the marks of her pregnancy. Actually it was even more beautiful now. He kissed every inch of her belly. He wanted her to be proud, proud of what she had done. After long minutes of kissing, stroking and moaning from both of them, he could not hold it any longer. He needed to be one with her. He lifted her hands above her head and entwined his fingers with hers. He looked into her eyes one last time and smiled. He tried his best to refrain his will and to be as gentle in his moves as much as he could. He moved slowly and checked for any sign on her face that it was maybe too early. He kept this pace for a few minutes until it was not enough anymore. He needed more and so does she. She encouraged him and it made him feel like he was the king of this world. This world being her body and pleasure. He followed her encouragement and they both had to refrain their will and need to scream once they have reached their climax. Tony collapsed on top of Ziva and stood still for long minutes, trying to catch his breath. He was dizzy and he was sure that his legs would never be able to support him if he tried to stood up. He rolled onto his back and Ziva followed him to rest on his chest. They were both still panting, exhausted by their physical reunion and they both knew it was only the beginning of the night. </p><p>Ziva was the first to wake up. Tony was still deeply asleep, spooning against her body, his arms locked around her chest. It was still very early. She had planned to go out for a run this morning, but first she had to get out of bed. She started to move slowly not to wake Tony up but the second he felt her move away from him he tightened his arms around her chest and got her body back to his. Ziva gasped with surprise and let a little laugh escape. Tony was still not moving but he said:<br/>-“where do you think you’re going ?”<br/>-“I was about to go for a run…”<br/>Tony grabbed her waist and pulled her closer: <br/>-“the only physical activities you are allowed to do is in this bed with me”<br/>-“is that my doctor’s orders ?”<br/>-“nope, it’s mine” <br/>As he finished his sentence, Tony buried his face on Ziva’s neck and smothered it with kisses. She giggled and when he untightened his grip on her she took advantage of it and pushed him back on the mattress to get on top of him. It was his turn to gasp in surprise. She was now on top of him. She moved her hips on his and judging by Tony’s body and face reaction, she was on the right spot. She smiled when he let a moan of pleasure escape. Her hair was dangling on each side of her face. He cupped her cheeks through her hair and looked at her face. She was looking beautiful. Her impish and predatory way of looking at him meant only one thing: he had been leading this during the night but this time he was at her mercy. And he was good with this idea. </p><p>She moved her hips again and he surrendered to her will. His arms fell down on the mattress and Ziva leaned forward to capture his lips on hers. She slowly moved down to his neck. She explored it for long minutes before moving down to his chest. She smothered his body with kisses, listening to the soft melody of Tony moaning her name. Ziva was getting dangerously down but Tony let a moan of complaint escape when Ziva moved back to his neck. Ziva smiled and whispered:<br/>-“and I am the one who’s too impatient ?”<br/>-“you’re killing me here” <br/>She smiled, resumed to her kissing and answered: <br/>-“I know” <br/>Tony’s hips were moving back and forth in anticipation. He knew Ziva was enjoying this. Seeing him desperate for more. She was the one deciding whether he could have more or not. She let her hands explore the rest of his body, making him gasp and moan even more. She was looking at his face as she was caressing him. His eyes were close and it was now clear that he had stopped breathing a long time ago. She kept torturing him like that for more than 10 minutes. 10 minutes of sweet torture that he was more than happy to endure. She moved back up and kissed him. He was looking as if he was high on drug and he actually was. He was high on her touch and he would be glad to get an overdose of her. She set her hips back on his and entwined her fingers in his hair. Then she finally moved her hips on him and he let a long moan escape, incapable to control himself. This feeling of being one with her, was something he got addicted to a long time ago. She moved back from him to adjust her position and landed her hands on his chest. Her movements were slow and perfectly timed. He grabbed her waist and locked his eyes on her. It was a wonderful picture to look at. She kept it on for 20 minutes, changing the speed of her movement until they could no longer hold it. She made sure that they were both falling down the edge at the same time. She leaned forward on his chest and kissed his shoulder. She stood still for a moment to catch her breathe while he took advantage of her position to caress her back. They were both panting and it made them laugh out loud. </p><p>Tony and Ziva were still laughing when the door behind them opened. They were both surprised but glad that it did not happen a few minutes earlier. Tali was standing on the doorway, wondering what was so funny. Tony would have loved to get a little more time with Ziva alone but it was the price of parenthood: <br/>-“someone’s hungry ?” He asked. <br/>Tali smiled and nodded vigorously. Tony and Ziva shared a amused look and Tony continued: <br/>-“alright go on, I am right behind you” <br/>Tali rushed to the kitchen. Tony threw his head back on the pillow and sighed. Ziva got off from Tony’s lap and laughed: <br/>-“come on, an hungry DiNozzo is a grumpy DiNozzo… you should not let her wait…” <br/>-“alright, alright…” <br/>Tony walked to the door when baby’s cries resonated in the apartment. Tony turned back to Ziva and laughed: <br/>-“looks like all the DiNozzo’s needs to be taken care of… no rest for you either sweetcheeks” <br/>He winked at her and then dodged the pillow thrown by Ziva which landed on the door. <br/>Ziva took care of Adam before joining her husband and daughter in the kitchen to enjoy breakfast together. It was soon time for Tali to get ready for school. Ziva kissed Tali and looked at her and Tony with proud eyes as they walked out from the apartment, leaving her with Adam for an hour. She was already missing their voices and laughs.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ziva was panicked. She pushed the stroller out from the hospital elevator and rushed to the front desk. She was holding Adam in her arms, she obviously didn’t took time to set him in his stroller when she got out from the car. When he saw her, Tony rushed to her. He had to reassure her. He welcomed her with a “don’t worry she’s fine” <br/>Ziva was relieved when she saw Tony, she asked nervously: <br/>-“what happened ?” <br/>Tony grabbed Adam from her arms and said: <br/>-“don’t worry, it’s just scratch, she did not even cried” <br/>As they were talking Tony led her to the examination room where Tali was waiting. When they entered the room Tali was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed with a big cast on her forearm and a band aid on her forehead. She waved and smiled at Ziva as if everything was normal. Ziva turned to Tony. She was furious. She said: <br/>-“just a scratch ????”<br/>Tony put on his charming grin and answered: <br/>-“well maybe more than that”<br/>-“it’s not funny Tony”<br/>Ziva dropped her bag on the floor and sat next to Tali. She pulled her to hug her. As always when she was upset or extremely worried she spoke in hebrew to Tali. Tony complained: <br/>-“not cool, you know hebrew is off-limit.. there are people here that doesn't speak hebrew… I am speaking about my buddy Adam here, of course…. I totally got what you said…” <br/>Tali laughed at her father’s lie and Ziva frowned at Tony. Tony walked to them and said: <br/>-“come on Ziva, she’s fine. We went to the park on our way back from school. She fell from the playground. She has been a brave girl and did not even shed a tear.. I actually did… and now she has a beautiful cast that we’ll have to decorate once we get home” <br/>Ziva was still hugging Tali. She had been so worried since she got the call telling her that she was at the hospital. </p><p> </p><p>They were now waiting to be released. Tali was feeling some pain in her arm. Tony was keeping her mind busy. He had first improvised a balloon made of a surgical gloves. Tony then asked Tali to teach him some word in hebrew. He was pointing at various objects in the room and Tali was giving him the right translation in front of the amused look of Ziva who was feeding Adam on the other side of the room. Tony was repeating the words his daughter was teaching him and Tali was making fun of him everytime he mispronounced a word. The doctor finally released them and Tony offered to go buy some ice cream to everyone to recover from all the stress of the afternoon. <br/>Later that day. Ziva was lying in her bed with Adam on her lap. When Tony appeared on the doorframe she raised an eye to him and focused back on Adam without granted Tony with a smile. Tony was concerned. He walked to the bed, sat next to Ziva and asked: <br/>-“you still mad at me for what happened to Tali?”<br/>-“I’m not mad at you Tony, I’m mad at myself.. I wasn’t there, I should have been there” <br/>-“stop blaming yourself, you need to take time for yourself. Tali is gonna hurt herself in so many different ways. We won’t be there every time”<br/>-“it’s not really helping…”<br/>-“come on, she’s a happy and joyful kid. You’ve hurt yourself when you were a kid and you’re fine right ? We should rejoice because Tali is not gonna experience half of the pain you’ve been through as a child. Have you seen how proud she was when she showed her cast to McGee ?”<br/>Ziva smiled. Her daughter was already showing signs of her mother’s bravery. Tony continued: <br/>-“she did not even cried, she even complained when I told her we had to go to the hospital”<br/>Ziva laughed and said:<br/>-“you were the only one panicking ?”<br/>-“I was freaking out you mean, I pictured you strangling me” <br/>-“I thought about it” <br/>-“I know you did. Come on stop punishing yourself for everything that happens to them. Sometimes life sucks… c’est la vie” <br/>She smiled at his french pronunciation and said:<br/>-“that's life”</p><p>Ziva was coming back from her gym club. She was exhausted, they only thing she wanted to do right now was to take a good and well-deserved shower. She opened the door and her eyes widened. She crossed her arms on her chest and said:<br/>-“what is going on here ?”<br/>Tony turned to face her, with a cardboard box on his head and a broom on his hand: <br/>-“Ziva! My love! Is it 8 already ?” <br/>-“what happened to the living room ?”<br/>The living room was actually a mess, pillows on the floor, bed sheets and covers hanged through the living room. Tony climb over the pillows and stumbled: <br/>-“this is not our living room, this is a princess castle…”<br/>Ziva raised an eyebrow and waited for more explanation. Tony pointed at Tali and explained: <br/>-“this is the beautiful princess who got captured by the mighty dragon who broke her arm in the process” he pointed at Adam, on his baby seat, who was chewing one of his toy. <br/>Ziva looked at Tony with incredulous eyes: <br/>-“so if Tali is the princess and Adam’s the villain then that makes you …” <br/>-“the brave and loyal knight…” <br/>-“of course… and this is ?” She pointed at Tony’s cardboard box<br/>-“my knight helmet” <br/>-“very convincing…” <br/>She came closer to Tony, lifted the cardboard box to land a kiss on his lips, then she lowered the “helmet” on Tony’s head. <br/>-“I am gonna take a shower… try not to destroy the living room..” <br/>She walked to the bathroom and Tony shouted:<br/>-“it’s a castle !” </p><p>When Ziva walked out from the bathroom she could hear laughs coming from the living-room. She rolled her eyes and thought: “those two… when they start there is no way to stop them” <br/>She entered the room and leaned by the door. Tony was tickling Tali’s side. She couldn’t stop laughing. Ziva smiled. Having her house filled with children’s laughs was everything she could have wished for. <br/>Tali saw her mother and screamed between two laughs:<br/>-“Ima please ! Help me !” <br/>-“what happened to the brave knight who was saving the princess ?” <br/>Tony kept tickling Tali and answered: <br/>-“looks like the mighty dragon cast a spell on him”<br/>Tali was still begging for her mother’s help. Ziva walked to Tony and joined the battle to free her daughter until they both stumbled on a pillow and crashed on them, Ziva on top of Tony. They were both panting from the tickles fight. Ziva smiled and whispered: <br/>-“How can we break the spell ?”<br/>-“I have a pretty good idea…” <br/>Ziva smiled. They both had the same idea. Ziva leaned forward and kissed him. <br/>-“feeling better ?” <br/>-“definitely better”<br/>-“can we now get rid of the castle and have diner ?” <br/>Tali argued: <br/>-“no aba promised that we would keep it until friday movie night” <br/>Ziva looked at Tony with disapproving eyes: <br/>-“really ? Aba said that ?”<br/>Tony charmingly smiled. Ziva admitted her defeat and said: <br/>-“alright then.. until friday movie night.. but after that the castle becomes a living room again.. understood ?”<br/>She was actually looking at Tony and not Tali when she asked the question. Tony and Tali nodded. Ziva laughed and helped Tony get back on his feet. Tony turned to walk to the kitchen. Ziva hit Tony’s buttock as he walked past her to show him that he was driving her insane sometimes. A little laugh escaped from him. On his way to the kitchen Tony grabbed Adam from his seat and said:<br/>-“come on mighty dragon, your reign is over, time to eat” </p><p> </p><p>Tali was getting impatient, she was lying under her castle made out of bed sheets. Behind her was Ziva, she was sitting on the couch with Adam next to her. She was playing with him and his favorite cuddly toy when suddenly the lights went off. Tony walked out from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn and started: <br/>-“ladies and baby gentleman… it is my pleasure to welcome you to the DiNozzo friday movie night”<br/>Ziva rolled her eyes and asked: <br/>-“are you really gonna do this every time?”<br/>-“yes! It’s my personal pleasure, stop ruining it”<br/>Ziva smiled and rolled her eyes again. Tali was done waiting: <br/>-“Come on Aba ! I want the movie !” <br/>-“Alright Alright ! I see that there is no way to make thing solemn with two impatient spoilsports like you” <br/>-“come and sit here aba !” <br/>Tony sat next to Tali on the pillows under the bed sheets and pressed play. <br/>During the movie Ziva grumbled: <br/>-“oh my god ! This makes no sense !” <br/>Both Tony and Tali shouted: “shhhhh”<br/>Ziva whispered: <br/>-“what ? It makes no sense to do that” <br/>Tali complained: <br/>-“it’s a movie Ima !”<br/>Tony looked at Ziva with pride and just moved his lips to articulate with no sound “she’s my daughter”. In response Ziva stuck her tongue out at Tony and winced. She was looking so much like him sometimes but she had also taken a lot from her mother’s behavior. She was impatient, smart and strong but she was also a funny and crafty joker. No need to say that Tali and Tony were driving Ziva crazy most of the time. She had to make sure that Adam was not becoming the image of his father too. The movie came to an end. Tali and Adam had fallen asleep. Tony grabbed Tali and took her to her bedroom, Ziva did the same with Adam. Tony joined Ziva in the living room. She was leant by the door frame. They both looked at the castle standing in the middle of their living room. Tony said: <br/>-“it’s gonna take us a lot of time to get rid of this” <br/>Ziva looked astonishing and said: <br/>-“us ?”<br/>-“yeah you gonna help me right ?”<br/>Ziva smiled and it then turned into a laugh. She turned around and walked to the bedroom. Tony begged: <br/>-“come on Ziva ! for better or worse you remember ?”<br/>But Ziva was gone, leaving him to deal with his castle.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ziva entered the living room. She was astonished to find Tony and Tali perfectly quiet, both sat on the living room table when she was used to find them running around the house, chasing each other:<br/>-“what are you doing ?”<br/>-“I’m helping Tali with her school project. We are doing her family tree. We actually need your help on the David’s side by the way”<br/>Ziva walked closer and took a look at it. She was not very pleased by the idea of creating a family tree where almost everyone was dead and most of them in pretty terrible ways but she smiled and sat next to Tali. She gave them some information on her grandparents, aunts and cousins but there was not much she could say about them. Once the tree was done Tali was looking very confused. She asked: <br/>-“why is grandpa Gibbs not on the tree ?” <br/>Tony and Ziva looked at each other and smiled. Ziva caressed her daughter’s head and said: <br/>-“because grandpa Gibbs is not really related to us. It’s not like you and Aba. He is not my biological father, he is like a second dad to me, a dad that was chosen by my heart.”<br/>-“why did you need a second dad ?”<br/>Ziva took and deep breathe and smiled. It was not an easy subject for a child: <br/>-“well.. I didn’t need another dad it’s just that my heart felt like it was more connected to Grandpa Gibbs’ heart rather than Saba Eli’s heart” <br/>Tali looked upset:<br/>-“but I want to put Grandpa Gibbs in the tree” <br/>Tony smiled at his daughter’s character. When she was upset she was looking so much like Ziva. Ziva grabbed another piece of paper and draw a circle on it: <br/>-“well then we should do another family tree” <br/>She put Tali’s name in the middle and added Adam’s name next to it. Then she wrote her name and Tony’s name around it. She finally added Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Jimmy, Ducky, Nick and Ellie in the circle. Once she was done she proudly said: <br/>-“see this is your chosen family tree. It doesn’t really look like a tree but… let’s find a name to it. It’s our family….”<br/>-“cloud !!” <br/>Ziva liked the idea: <br/>-“alright then ! Here it is ! Tali and Adam’s family cloud” </p><p> </p><p>It was late. Tali was asleep and Ziva came back from checking on Adam in his bedroom. Tony was quietly sat on the couch. He was looking pretty focused on something. Ziva walked to him and sat next to him: <br/>-“what are you doing ?” <br/>Tony hesitated for a second, he was scared that Ziva might think it was ridiculous and then said:<br/>-“You know I’ve been thinking about my old bucket list, this is not me anymore. You gonna think it’s stupid but I’m writing a new one, for DiNozzo 2.0” <br/>Ziva smiled: <br/>-“I don’t think this is stupid..”<br/>Tony continued: <br/>-“can you believe how one little decision can change everything ? Look at me, what would have happened if I had decided to get into my family business instead of becoming a cop ? I would probably be broke by now, married to a wife that hates me, with probably kids that I don’t really know and who also hates me… one little decision” <br/>Ziva lean forward and kissed him:<br/>-“thank god you took the right decision” <br/>She grabbed a piece of paper from his hands and took a pen on the coffee table and started chewing it. Tony asked: <br/>-“what are you doing ?”<br/>-“writing my bucket list… Ziva 2.0” <br/>She focused on her list and before turning back to his Tony nonchalantly said:<br/>-“no need to write it down, I am not gonna buy you a pony…” <br/>Ziva laughed, winced and put some ink on Tony’s cheek to make him pay for his mockery. Tony smiled. He was happy that he could shared this with her. He looked at her chewing her pen and he was suddenly hit by a flashback of her, sitting at her desk in the bullpen, chewing a pen. It still has the same effect on him, he still thought that it was very sexy. He focused back on his list but his mind was clearly still focused on her. </p><p>-“oh my god you are as grumpy as your father sometimes !”<br/>Ziva was trying to feed Adam but it seems like he had not intention to cooperate. Tony heard Ziva’s complaint and walked in: <br/>-“what’s wrong ?”<br/>-“your son is being a DiNozzo !”<br/>-“What’s that supposed to mean ?”<br/>Ziva sighed and regain composure, she was obviously very anxious:<br/>-“I’ve been trying everything! He doesn’t want to eat !” <br/>-“that’s definitely not a DiNozzo thing”<br/>Tony walked closer to Ziva and grabbed her waist:<br/>-“what if the problem is elsewhere?”<br/>Ziva looked at Tony. She had no patience for a psychological therapy right now. Tony continue:<br/>-“you are nervous, he can feel it” <br/>Ziva first tried to stubbornly contest his idea but she knew he was right and it was getting her even more upset. <br/>-“Is this about our trip to D.C ?” <br/>Ziva took a moment to answer. She was about to admit that he was right and above all she thought that her reaction was ridiculous: <br/>-“it’s gonna be his first time on a plane… the first time he leaves his birthplace” <br/>Tony smiled, kissed Her and said: <br/>-“how about you enjoy your flight with Tali and you let me handle him ? The DiNozzo boys are gonna be a big hit on first class. Single ladies love men with babies”<br/>Ziva slapped his butt to show her displeasure about hearing him speaking about flirting with any other woman than her. Tony laughed and grabbed Adam:<br/>-“alright no single ladies for us”<br/>Ziva smiled and agreed to Tony’s idea even though she knew she could not resist to hold her son in her arms for 12 straight hours. </p><p> </p><p>Gibbs’ house was pretty quiet. He was sat at his kitchen table. A cup of hot coffee in front of him, he was reading the newspaper when his front door opened and voices raised from outside. He turned to the entrance to see Tony holding a bag in one hand and a Adam in his car seat on the other hand. Gibbs smiled and he heard them arguing about Ziva’s ability to drive: <br/>-“I am not saying that our children are not safe when you drive, I am just saying that I want them to reach the age of majority..” <br/>Ziva cursed in hebrew. Tali rushed from behind her parents and crashed on Gibbs to give him a strong hug. Gibbs smiled and kissed the top of her head: <br/>-“hey kid” <br/>Tony stopped in front of Gibbs, placed Adam’s car seat on the table and said:<br/>-“Oh hey boss, you look well… changed something in your hair ? just kidding, it’s good to see you”<br/>Gibbs smiled. Tony was there for less than a minute and he already wanted to head slap him. They both shared a man hug. Gibbs hugged and kissed Ziva before turning his attention to Adam. Gibbs bent toward him to take a better look. Adam was looking at Gibbs, curious to discover this new face. Gibbs smiled and said:<br/>-“he looks like you DiNozzo” <br/>A proud smile spread on Tony’s face and Ziva cut him off before he had time to brag about it: <br/>-“let’s hope that he only inherited his look and not his attitude”<br/>Tony continued: <br/>-“she’s just mad because I told her that her way of driving was not suitable for low ages children. Actually it’s not suitable for anyone who wants to stay alive. Come on tell her Gibbs” <br/>Gibbs walked back to the kitchen to get them some coffee. On his way back with cup of coffees he answered: <br/>-“never had to complain about her way of driving” <br/>Tony sighed:<br/>-“why am I even trying ?” </p><p>Tony, Gibbs and Ziva were gathered around Gibbs kitchen table. Tali was on her father’s lap. Tony asked her: <br/>-“hey wanna see something cool ?” <br/>Tali nodded with excitement. He continued: <br/>-“let’s go see the boat”<br/>They rushed to the door leading to the basement. Before they disappeared Ziva yield: <br/>-“Don’t break anything down there !”<br/>But it was too late they were already gone. Gibbs smiled and asked: <br/>-“how are you doing Ziver ?”<br/>-“great, I am fine. I’ve been pretty busy recently” she smiled and stroke Adam’s cheek. He was playing with the mobile hanging from his car seat. <br/>-“how’s DiNozzo handling this ?”<br/>-“He is a great father. He is still adjusting but he is doing great. You should see them together, they are fond of each other. Adam is always looking for his dad when he hears his voice. I’m kind of jealous sometimes” <br/>Gibbs laughed. Ziva asked: <br/>-“how are you doing ?”<br/>-“I’m fine Ziva, you know me. I don’t change” <br/>-“do you have news from Phineas ?”<br/>-“yeah! he’s doing great”<br/>-“that kid has been through a lot” <br/>-“He did, we all did”<br/>There was an awkward silence between them, both remembered how his life was impacted by them. That moment was quickly broken by the sound of a broken glass. Ziva sighed and said: <br/>-“you gotta be kidding me” <br/>She looked at Adam on his seat. Gibbs knew she couldn’t leave him alone to see what was going on downstairs. He said: <br/>-“go on, I got him” <br/>She thanks him with a smile and rushed to the stairs, ready to lecture her husband and daughter. </p><p>Once she was down the stairs she discovered Tony picking up some pieces of broken glass on the floor. Ziva crossed her arms on her chest and said: <br/>-“what did I say about breaking things ?” <br/>Tony tried to hide the piece of glass behind his back. Ziva looked at him with her usual “really Tony” look. Gibbs joined them with Adam now on his arms: <br/>-“it’s ok, it’s just broken glass. It does not matter as long as nobody is hurt”<br/>Ziva turned to Gibbs and noticed that Adam was now in his arms. She looked surprised. Gibbs explained: <br/>-“He started to whine when you left” <br/>Ziva smiled and her attention was dragged back to Tony and Tali. Tony quietly said to his daughter: <br/>-“go on ask him”<br/>Tali walked to Gibbs with her very shy and intimidated attitude and asked: <br/>-“how will you get the boat out from your basement ?”<br/>Ziva looked at Tony with a raised eyebrow. Gibbs smiled and crouched. He whispered to Tali’s ear:<br/>-“can you keep a secret ?”<br/>Tali nodded. Gibbs whispered something in her ear and the face of the little girl enlightened as if he had revealed her the biggest secret of the world. Tony was eager to know the answer: <br/>-“what is it ? How does he do it ?”<br/>Tali looked at Gibbs and then back to Tony and answered: <br/>-“it’s a secret between me and grandpa Gibbs” <br/>Tony was desperate: <br/>-“WHAT ? You can’t keep secrets from me, I am you dad” <br/>Ziva laughed and said:<br/>-“if you knew how many secrets she’s hiding from you” <br/>-“what ? Tali DiNozzo come back here !”<br/>Tali ran upstairs and Tony followed her to try to get the truth about the boat. Before walking upstairs, Ziva took one last glance at the basement. Her memories hit back: Ari’s death, her hideout when she was hunted by the FBI, her open heart discussion with Gibbs when she confessed that he was like a father to her, the first time she saw Gibbs after her fake death. She had been through so many emotions in this cave but it felt so much like home. Ziva was taken out from her thoughts by Adam’s giggles. Gibbs asked: <br/>-“are you ok ?” <br/>Ziva took a second to answer and finally said: <br/>-“yeah, I am fine, we should go upstairs before they burn the house down” </p><p>Ziva was on the garden with Adam and Tali. She had spread a cover down on the grass with some of Adam’s favorite toys on it. She was playing with him while Tali was practicing her dance moves:<br/>-“look Ima !” <br/>-“I am looking baby” <br/>Behind them was Tony. He was looking at them from away. He was sitting on the steps that lead to the kitchen when Gibbs walked out and held him a beer. They cheered and both took a sip. Both quietly looking at Ziva and the kids. Gibbs was surprisingly the first one to break the silence:<br/>-“She looks happy” <br/>-“I think she is. I hope she is. She still have some hard moments but...” he paused “I’m doing my best boss” <br/>Gibbs smiled. Usually Gibbs would have answered “doing your best is not enough” but this time was over, Tony was no longer his agent, he was a father, a husband and he obviously didn’t need his advice anymore. He had kept the promise he had made a long time ago to him in his basement. He had taken care of his family. At this time, it only meant taking care of Tali, who would have thought that a few years ago it would now means taking care of Ziva and his son. What looked like a tragedy at first, turned into a beautiful tale with what started to look like a happy ending at the end. <br/>Gibbs and Tony kept looking at them for a few minutes until Tali shouted: <br/>-“come on Aba !” <br/>-“ha, I think I hear the sweet sound of the call of duty”<br/>Tony took one last sip of beer and stoop up. Leaving Gibbs with his own memories of his family.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was finally Thanksgiving again. The table and the food were ready. Abby, Ducky, Sloane, McGee, Delilah and the kids were already there. The door opened and everyone welcomed Jimmy, Breena and Victoria. Tony walked toward them to get their coats:<br/>-“hey Palmer, I am glad to see that your hair got its color back”<br/>Palmer looked embarrassed and whispered:<br/>-“we should not talk about that… Breena is still pretty upset..”<br/>-“copy that” <br/>Ellie and Nick arrived a few minutes later. Ellie hugged Ziva and took a better look at her: <br/>-“oh my god, don’t tell me that you just had a baby and already look that amazing” <br/>Ziva smiled, she was not quite sure what to answer, she had never been really good at receiving compliments. Ellie looked very serious and asked: <br/>-“where is he ?”<br/>Ziva didn’t need her to be more precise about who she was talking about, she pointed at the kitchen and said:<br/>-“he has been kidnapped by McGee and Abby” <br/>Ellie rushed to the kitchen to meet the newest creation of the DiNozzo-David family. <br/>Nick rolled his eyes and said: <br/>-“thank you! Now she’s gonna be so cheesy, I can already hear her high-pitched voice”<br/>Nick was imitating Ellie’s voice when she yelled from the kitchen: <br/>-“I CAN HEAR YOU !”<br/>Ziva laughed and Nick said:<br/>-“Nice to see you again David”<br/>-“you look better than the last time I saw your face… how’s your nose ?” <br/>Nick frowned: <br/>-“you really wanna start this right now ?”<br/>Ziva laughed and hugged Nick before leading him to the kitchen. </p><p>A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Everybody was surprised by it. It was obviously someone who had no idea that Gibbs’ door was always open. Tony said: <br/>-“it must be my father” <br/>He rushed to the door and froze. Behind the door was his father with a woman Tony had never seen before. Tony could feel his anger growing inside of him. He opened the door and let the new guests come in. His father greeted him: <br/>-“Hi, Junior” <br/>Tony’s answer was very cold: <br/>-“Dad..” <br/>Senior was pretty embarrassed by his son’s attitude. He tried to ignore it: <br/>-“Natasha, this is Anthony, my son. Junior, this is Natasha, my fiancé” <br/>Tony was about to explode when Ziva walked in. She could clearly feel the tension in the room. She greet everyone and hugged Senior. Senior introduced Ziva to his fiancé and then said: <br/>-“I know I should have told you before but…” <br/>Tony cut him off immediately by saying: <br/>-“oh no ! Why ? This is the perfect moment for you to introduce me to my future ex stepmother”<br/>And Tony walked away, leaving Ziva in a pretty awkward situation. She looked at Senior, he was obviously feeling bad. Ziva smiled and said: <br/>-“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him. Why don’t you go to the living room ? Tali has been asking for you since she got up” <br/>Ziva left them and walked to the basement where Tony was hiding. </p><p>Tony was pacing through the basement. He was mumbling. Ziva silently walked down the stairs and leaned against the handrail. She was looking at her husband in a very amused way. She had always thought that being upset looked pretty sexy on him. <br/>-“you want to talk about it ?” <br/>Tony jumped in surprise. He hates when she uses her ninja skills to scare him. <br/>-“Not now Ziva !” He paused “He’s never gonna change, he do this all the time. He disappear for month and then out of nowhere he reappears with a new girlfriend. Have you seen him ? He looks like a teenager. I got used to this but Tali.. What is she gonna think ? What ? Why are you smiling?” <br/>Ziva was quiet. She wanted to laugh so much that she had to bite the inside of her cheeks to prevent from doing so. Ziva walked to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She tilted her head and placed a soft kiss on his lips: <br/>-“you talk a lot for someone who did not want to talk about it…”<br/>Tony was about to argue but Ziva didn’t let him: <br/>-“you two are like cats and dogs” Tony looked surprised that Ziva got this idiom right but he let her continue anyway “and Tali is going to think that her pop-pop looks happy, even if it only last for a few weeks what’s wrong about that ? Your father is a grown man who had his share of conquest yes. Do you want to judge him for that ?” She raised an eyebrow, Tony was really not the good person to judge him about this. <br/>Tony reluctantly answered:<br/>-“no..”<br/>-“So can we go back upstairs and have fun with everyone ?” <br/>-“yes but kiss me first” <br/>He tried to kiss her but she dodged his lips: <br/>-“are you going to be nice to Natasha ?”<br/>Tony rolled his eyes and agreed.<br/>-“alright then..”<br/>Ziva kissed him passionately and they both walked upstairs. When they walked out from the basement they bumped into Palmer who asked suspiciously: <br/>-“hey, everyone is looking for you. Wait, what were you doing downstairs ? Together… in the dark..”<br/>Tony and Ziva shared an amused smile and Tony answered: <br/>-“oh Palmer, this would make you blush” and they both walked away, leaving a confused Jimmy in the middle of the corridor. </p><p> </p><p>Everyone was gathered in the living room. Nick was playing with Tali. He was faking to fight with her. Ziva walked by with a plate in her hands and said:<br/>-“be careful Tali...”<br/>Nick cut her off and said:<br/>-“don’t worry I’m not gonna hurt her ?”<br/>Ziva smiled and answered: <br/>-“I was actually gonna tell her to be careful not to hurt you Nick… it would be pretty embarrassing for you to get your ass kicked by my daughter too” <br/>Tali burst out laughing and Ziva winked at Nick. <br/>Adam suddenly started crying. Tony grabbed him and tried to soothe him but it was obviously not working. Ellie walked to him, took the little boy from Tony’s arms and said with her high-pitched voice: <br/>-“come on little nugget. Come with Auntie Ellie. It’s ok. Shhhh” <br/>Adam instantly stopped crying. Tony was obviously offended. He looked at his son and said: <br/>-“you and I are gonna have a little talk” <br/>Ellie sat on the couch and all the women in the room instantly gathered around her to get their share of the little boy. Tony looked at the scene and smiled: offended but proud. Ziva stopped by, placed her head on his shoulder and whispered: <br/>-“DiNozzo all the way” <br/>-“this kid is gonna be a heartbreaker” <br/>Ziva nodded:<br/>-“hm..hm… but of course, you gonna teach him how to treat women right ?” <br/>-“of course… who do you think I am ?” <br/>Ziva let a little laugh escape and returned to her previous occupation. </p><p> </p><p>Nick knelt next to Tali and said: <br/>-“let me see that cast. Your dad said you haven’t been crying”<br/>-“no”<br/>-“you such a badass already”<br/>-“what’s a badass ?”<br/>Tali check to see if her mom was mad at her for using that word, Ziva smiled and Nick continued: <br/>-“a badass is someone just like your mom, a strong and brave woman”<br/>-“I want to be a badass too”<br/>-“oh I am sure you will. Come on let’s make you a badass cast” <br/>Ellie and Nick were gathered around Tali’s arm. They were quietly drawing on her cast. Ellie tried to peak at what Nick was drawing but he hid it with his hand. Ellie rolled her eyes and said: <br/>-“be careful with what you are about to draw. There is only one thing you can draw and it’s not suitable for a 7 years old”<br/>Nick looked offended:<br/>-“why do you have such a low opinion of me. I can draw!”<br/>Ellie mocked him and said: <br/>-“sure” <br/>30 minutes later, it was time to reveal their creations. Tali was holding her cast in front of her for everyone to see it. Nick was looking pretty proud when Ellie and McGee were looking at the cast in a skeptical way. Ellie tilted her head to see if Nick’s drawing would look better upside down. She could not hold it anymore:<br/>-“what is that even supposed to be ? A cat ? Or a duck ?”<br/>-“what ? It’s a butterfly” <br/>McGee exhaled: <br/>-“oh my god that explains a lot” <br/>Nick turned to him:<br/>-“what is that supposed to mean ?”<br/>-“it means that your crime scenes sketch are crap”<br/>-“my crime scenes sketches are art, you are just jealous because you are not gifted”<br/>Tony, Ziva and Gibbs were looking at the scene from the kitchen. Tony and Ziva exchanged an amused look. They used to bicker like that too and it actually never left them. </p><p>Everyone was gathered around the dining table, everyone was chatting and the children were running around the house. Gibbs took a moment to enjoy this. Hearing his house filled with children’s laughter was an amazing gift. He was drawn out from his thoughts by Tony saying to McGee and Nick: ⠀<br/>-“she knows.. he told her yesterday and since then she refuses to tell me. You can try McGee, I have tried everything, she won’t say anything” ⠀<br/>McGee called Tali: ⠀<br/>-“come here Tali, uncle Tim has a question for you…”⠀<br/>Tali stopped by her uncle and he continued: ⠀<br/>-“grandpa Gibbs told you his secret ? About the boat ?” ⠀<br/>Tali nodded “you can share it with your favorite uncle right ?” Tali shook her head. ⠀<br/>Ellie punched his arm and McGee moaned: ⠀<br/>-“stop it McGee.” Ellie pulled the little girl to her and said “don’t mind them, they are stupid boys.. you gonna share it with Auntie Ellie right ?” ⠀<br/>Tony intervened: ⠀<br/>-“hey! If there is someone here she has to share it with, it’s me ok ? Her dad.. right Tali ?” He placed Tali on his lap and said desperately: “I’ll buy you a pony..” ⠀<br/>Ziva threw her spoon at him and shouted: ⠀<br/>-“TONY !” ⠀<br/>-“alright,  alright… FINE !” He let Tali get off his lap and said to Ziva “come on ! You wanna know it too” ⠀<br/>-“what makes you think that she really knows ? Maybe Gibbs didn’t tell her anything and she's playing with you” ⠀<br/>Everyone turned to Gibbs. He was clearly enjoying the scene. He shrugged his shoulder to let them know that maybe Tali knew or maybe not. ⠀</p><p> </p><p>Nick took something out from his pocket and said: <br/>-“speaking about secret..” he waved what seemed to be a piece of paper in front of me. Ellie tried to take it from him and begged: <br/>-“Nick don’t !” <br/>Nick dodged her hand and kept waving the paper: <br/>-“the other day I was looking for something in Mcgee’s desk and I found this…(he waved it again) stuck under one of his drawer…” <br/>Nick showed the paper to McGee who instantly turned white and stammered: <br/>-“this is not mine ! Ziva, Delilah I swear this is something Tony left…” <br/>Ziva’s mouth dropped when she saw the picture of herself in her bikini from their mission in Los Angeles. Tony stood up, grabbed his son and rushed to the stairs, pretending that Adam needed his diaper changed. Ziva shouted: <br/>-“TONY! Come back here !”<br/>-“Sorry, can’t, my son needs me!” <br/>Nick then looked at the picture and said:<br/>-“you are seriously telling me that this dude waited for YEARS to make a move to that woman”<br/>Ellie punched his arm and Nick groaned and said <br/>-“what ! I said that with a lot of respect” <br/>Tony rushed back in the living room with Adam in his arms and Ziva chasing him: <br/>-“you can’t touch me I have a baby in my arms” <br/>Ziva was on one side of the table and Tony on the other side. Tony begged: <br/>-“why do you care ? You are my wife now, I’ve seen you with less than that bikini ! Come on Boss tell her she can’t hurt me for that” <br/>Gibbs didn’t say a word, he grabbed the picture from Nick’s hand and threw it to the flames on the fireplace. <br/>Everyone looked at the picture through the flames. Ziva smiled victoriously until she saw that Tony was also smiling victoriously. She realized that this could only means that this picture was only a copy. </p><p> </p><p>The situation was back to normal. McGee and Ziva were talking about the kids. McGee asked to Tali: <br/>-“how is it to be a big sister ?”<br/>-“I like it, except when I have to be quiet because Adam takes a nap. I hate that, but I like him anyway. He is funny sometimes but I can’t play with him because ima says he is too little”<br/>Ziva smiled, kissed her daughter forehead and said: <br/>-“you should have seen her when we got back from the hospital. She asked for us to give him a tour of the apartment and we could not stop her from talking. When we asked her if she wanted to hold him she just left the room and gathered all the pillows in the house. She came back and set all the pillows around her to be sure that Adam would not fall on the ground. She’s doing a great job. She’s growing up so fast. <br/>McGee turned his attention back to Tali and asked: <br/>-“what do you want to be when you grow up Tali ?”<br/>-“I want to be a warrior ballerina” <br/>-“A what ?”<br/>Tali was looking pretty serious about it:<br/>-“I want to catch bad guys like Ima and Aba, I want to be a dancer … and I want to take care of dinosaurs” <br/>Ziva add: <br/>-“Tony introduced her to Jurassic Park last week. She had been watching it over and over again. She loves dinosaurs” <br/>Tony laughed and commented: <br/>-“that’s why she loves Gibbs so much” <br/>His sentence was barely finished that Gibbs’ hand struck the back of his head. Tony looked surprised since he thought that Gibbs was not in the room. Tony winced and moaned: <br/>-“totally deserve it, sorry boss”</p><p> </p><p>Nick was on the front yard to take a call. Once he hung up his phone Tony walked out from the house. They both sat on the stairs under the porch. Tony spoke first:<br/>-“So how’s life going at NCIS ?”<br/>-“fine, things are great”<br/>-“what about Bishop ?”<br/>-“ahh.. she’s fine..”<br/>-“it’s not what I meant..”<br/>-“oh come on! You too ? Ziva already tried !”<br/>Tony laughed:<br/>-“why do you think I’m here ? Look, she just want to help ok, she don’t want you to do the same mistakes we did” <br/>-“you and Ziva was different ok”<br/>-“no it wasn’t. I know how you feel, I’ve been there too and look at me now I have 2 beautiful children with a woman I love. I was scared that I would ruin everything. All the women I ever had in my life disappeared: they died or they left me and I thought that the problem was me. It did not wanted that for Ziva. I preferred to spend my life looking at her from my desk rather than spending one night with her and losing her forever. And guess what… I almost lost her anyway. Because I took the wrong decision. One decision can change everything. You will not ruin anything if you do the right choice”<br/>Nick stayed quiet and finally asked:<br/>-“it’s that simple ?” <br/>-“it’s simple if you want it to be simple” <br/>-“you would do things differently if you had the chance ?”<br/>-“oh man you have no idea. Tali would have been there since a long time if I had been brave enough” <br/>Tony rose his beer and said: <br/>-“to the beautiful women of NCIS who stole our hearts” <br/>Nick repeated: <br/>-“to the beautiful women of NCIS” </p><p> </p><p>Nick and Tony took some time to enjoy their beers quietly, away from everyone until Ellie appeared behind them. Tony took advantage of it and abandoned Nick. It was time for him to make a choice. On his way back inside the house he winked at Ellie who looked confused. She came to sit next to Nick on the stairs: <br/>-“hey! I was looking for you, I thought you had left. What were you two doing down here ?”<br/>-“we were talking”<br/>-“talking about ?”<br/>Nick turned to look at Ellie. He was looking at her deeply but she did not noticed it: <br/>-“about the choice we make”<br/>-“oh woah, it almost sound like a grown up talk. And what choice are we talking about here ?”<br/>-“you don’t need to know”<br/>-“oh ok.. I see, I thought we were telling each other things but…”<br/>-“shut up.. you are ruining it”<br/>-“what ? What I am ruining ?”<br/>-“me, trying not to be a wuss”<br/>Ellie was even more confused:<br/>-“What are you talking abo…..”<br/>She did not had time to finish her sentence before Nick’s lips were pressed on her. His heart was beating so fast that he feared that she could feel it through his chest. He had no idea what he should do next. His only plan was to improvise. This could be the beginning of something very beautiful or very awkward. Their kiss came to an end as both needed some oxygen. Ellie still in complete shock asked:<br/>-“can I speak now ?”<br/>-“no”<br/>-“ok”<br/>And they resumed their kissing for long minutes. </p><p>They stood quietly together under the porch for long minutes until Ellie asked:<br/>-”you think they are spying on us right now ?” <br/>-”no doubt they are” <br/>Inside the house, Tony was spying on them through the window. Ziva walked in and asked:<br/>-”what are you doing ?”<br/>-”shhh ! look !”<br/>Ziva looked through the window and saw Ellie and Nick kissing each other. She proudly smile and then she punched Tony’s arm and whispered:<br/>-”stop spying on them ! Give them some privacy” <br/>Tony complained: <br/>-“you are spying on them too” <br/>-“it’s not the same” she paused “I do it with kindness”<br/>Tony, still whispering:<br/>-“oh excuse me miss benevolence 2020” <br/>McGee walked in:<br/>-”hey, what are you doing ?”<br/>Both Ziva and Tony shouted:<br/>-”SHHHHH!” <br/>McGee was confused. He walked closer and looked at the scene: <br/>-”oh really ! not again !”<br/>Tony head slapped McGee and asked:<br/>-”What’s wrong with you ?” <br/>McGee sighed:<br/>-”it’s happening again ! I’ve had to work with you for years, flirting and playing grab ass every day ! Do you know what it’s like to be the third wheel every day? And here we go again. It’s gonna be like working with two teenagers full of hormones again”<br/>Ziva and Tony looked at each other and Ziva said:<br/>-”we were not playing grab ass!”<br/>Both Tony and McGee looked at her with sceptic eyes:<br/>-”Don’t mind him Ziva, he is just an old killjoy” <br/>They both walked away from the window. Before leaving the room Tony turned back to face McGee and repeated:<br/>-”McKilljoy !”<br/>McGee sighed again. </p><p> </p><p>When Tony and Ziva walked back to the living room, Abby was holding Adam in her arms. Tali rushed to her parents and said:<br/>-”look what auntie Abby offered to me and Adam !” <br/>She held a stuffed Giraffe up in front of her and then she squeezed it. The giraffe farted and Tony and Ziva looked at it without knowing how to react. Ziva spoke first:<br/>-”Abby, this is …. nice from you. You shouldn't have”<br/>Tony added:<br/>-“who knew that bert the hippo wasn’t the last of her kind” <br/>Ziva nudged him and frowned. Tali squeezed the stuffed giraffe again and burst out laughing. Tony commented<br/>-”yeah, I am sure people on the plane are gonna love this too”<br/>Tali was very excited about the gift but it was more because it was a gift from her favorite aunt. Abby could have offered her a broken pencil, Tali would have cherish it as if it was the most beautiful pencil in the world:<br/>-”look ! Adam got a Lion !” <br/>She squeezed Adam’s lion and of course it made the same awkward sound as the giraffe before. Tony said: <br/>-“and it farts too… it keeps getting better and better” <br/>Tony whispered into Ziva’s ears: <br/>-”it’s going to be a very awkward flight back to Paris” <br/>Ziva kept smiling to abby and whispered to Tony:<br/>-“remind me to hide those things in our luggage before we leave ok”<br/>-“copy that”<br/>Adam was holding the lion against his chest and Abby was looking so proud: <br/>-”look Adam loves it so much already. He don’t want to leave it”<br/>Both Ziva and Tony nervously laughed and both added:<br/>-”ah ah, yeah great… this is great…”</p><p>The night went on. The men were on the basement, playing poker, drinking whisky and talking about women while the women were upstairs drinking wine and talking about men. <br/>In the basement: <br/>Tony had his tie tied around his head, rambo style, and he was quoting some movies with his deep voice to distract McGee. One could have thought that he was pretty intoxicated by whisky but he was just being Anthony DiNozzo:<br/>-“COME ON ELF LORD ! Show me what you got !” <br/>McGee laid his cards on the table with a proud smile: <br/>-“two pair” <br/>Tony looked at it with disappointment. McGee smiled proudly and said: <br/>-“I knew you were bluffing !” <br/>Tony looked at his cards, still with disappointment and said: <br/>-“well maybe I was right all these years..” he paused, everyone looked at him with confused eyes and he continued “maybe I was right to say that I am a better investigator than you” he jumped from his chair and pushed it away, laid his card on the table and shouted “BECAUSE I WAS NOT BLUFFING AT ALL !!!!! FULL HOUSE BABY!!!” <br/>McGee cursed. It was the fourth time tonight that Tony was beating him. <br/>-“you can’t beat me Probie, I am your Nemesis”<br/>The girls upstairs heard Tony’s screams. Natasha, senior’s fiancé, looked worried. Ziva smiled and said: <br/>-“don’t worry, it just means that Tony won, you’re gonna get used to it”<br/>She really had married a kid. <br/>Ellie suggested:<br/>-“we should really get them out of there before one of them ends up broke or worse... naked.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few days after thanksgiving, Tony and Ziva had left the children at McGee’s house for the afternoon. Tony asked:<br/>-”where are you taking me ?”<br/>-”Stop asking questions, we will be there soon”<br/>After ten minutes, Ziva parked the car in front of a house. She stopped the engine and looked at Tony:<br/>-”this is it”<br/>Tony was confused:<br/>-”what do you mean this is it ?” <br/>Ziva stepped out of the car and Tony followed her to the house in front of which they were parked. She opened the house and let him get inside. Tony was starting to understand what Ziva was trying to tell him. He smiled and asked: <br/>-”do you have a warrant ? I am just asking because the last time we entered a house like this we ended up being handcuffed to each other and I still think that you really enjoyed that”<br/>-”maybe I did, you’ll never know”<br/>Tony walked through the empty house. He said:<br/>-”this is a nice house” <br/>-”this could be ours”<br/>Tony thoughts were right. He asked:<br/>-”what about Paris ? You love Paris” <br/>Ziva took a deep breath and started:<br/>-”yes I love Paris. But Paris is taking me back to the reason why we are living there and not here. You went living in Paris to protect our family. Our family is safe. Being there with everyone reminded me of old times. You love your american life and I know you miss it.”<br/>Tony was trapped. He could only admit that she was right. He asked:<br/>-”what about Tali ?”  <br/>-”Tali is still young. She’ll get through this. And she will get to spend more time with McGee and Gibbs. I want my children to be surrounded by a family that we have made for ourselves” <br/>-”the family cloud ?”<br/>Ziva smiled in remembrance: <br/>-”the family cloud” <br/>Tony looked as if he was taking some time to think about it when he had actually agreed to this idea since the beginning and then said:<br/>-”alright but I want to turn the basement into a movie room”</p><p>It was their last night in Paris. Tomorrow they will close the door of their Parisian apartment for the last time. <br/>The apartment was almost empty. Tali and Adam’s bedrooms furniture were gone to D.C. Tony and Ziva had to share their bed with the kids for over a week, much to the joy of Tali and Adam. Adam was long gone asleep on his mother’s chest. Tony grumbled:<br/>-“Tali, your feet are very cold” <br/>Tali moved her feet away from her father’s legs, then she smiled mischievously and touched Tony’s legs again. <br/>-“Tali ! Stop !” <br/>Tali giggled. <br/>-“you know what’s gonna happen if you don’t stop ? The king of tickle is gonna have to crack down on you” <br/>Ziva raised an eyebrow, she was hoping that Tali would fall asleep soon but now that Tony had provoked her, there was no way this would happen and on top of that they will probably wake up Adam during the fight. <br/>Tali giggled again and touched her father’s leg with her feet again. <br/>Ziva warned as she saw Tony moving on the bed:: <br/>-“Tony don’t”<br/>-“It’s too late Ziva, She’s gonna have to face her fate”<br/>Tony jumped and grabbed the little girl. Tali started to giggle and struggle. Ziva smiled and nonchalantly said: <br/>-“you are going to hurt yourself…”<br/>After long minutes of a tickle fight on the bed, Tony and Tali fell from the bed and collapsed on the floor. They both said: <br/>-“ouch!”<br/>The next thing they heard was Ziva saying: <br/>-“why do I always have to be right”<br/>And Adam started to whine. <br/>Tali and Tony still on the floor looked at each other with a guilty smile.</p><p>An hour later, Tali was still not sleeping. Ziva knew that she was obviously anxious about leaving Paris for a new life. Tony was asleep with Adam next to him. Ziva turned to face Tali and whispered: ⠀<br/>-“do you want to talk about it ?” ⠀<br/>The little girl shook her head and Ziva cursed herself in her mind for giving that aspect of her personality to her daughter. Ziva smiled and gave a boop on Tali’s nose. It was always making her smile and this time was no different. Ziva started: ⠀<br/>-“I know how hard this is for you Tali. It’s going to be a different world and you’ll probably feel lost at first. But one of David’s biggest strengths is our faculty to adapt to a new situation. And you are a David as much as you are a DiNozzo. I’ve been through this. I was living my life in Israel, with my work, my friends, my habits and then I had to move to the U.S. I’ve met new people which were very, VERY different from the people I used to know, and they became my family. Changing is difficult but you should remember one thing: home isn’t a place, it’s the people you are with. If I never moved to D.C I would not have met Aba, I would not have had my baby girl (she booped her nose again) and I would not be as happy as I am now. You’re gonna be fine” ⠀<br/>Tali smiled and asked: ⠀<br/>-“you promise ?”⠀<br/>Ziva raised her pinky finger and said: ⠀<br/>-“I promise” ⠀<br/>Tali locked her pinky finger to her mother’s and smiled. She cuddled up to her mother’s side and closed her eyes. Her mother had made a promise to her and she was always keeping her promises. She knew she would be fine.</p><p>They were finally home. Their new home for their new life. The first night had been pretty rough, especially for the kids. It was a beautiful morning. Tony was moving some boxes around the house under Ziva’s instructions. Adam was wrapped in a baby sling on his mother’s chest and Tali was helping her father. Ziva asked them to move Tali’s stuff to her bedroom and Ziva went to the garage to see what they should deal with next. After quite some time Ziva came back from the garage. She was surprised that neither Tali nor Tony were back already. She heard a sound coming from upstairs, a melody. She rolled her eyes and smiled. She climbed the stairs and opened the door of Tali’s new bedroom. Tony was playing guitar while Tali was listening, dancing and clapping around him. She loved it when her father was playing some music for her and he loved to see his little girl dancing. Tony noticed Ziva: <br/>-“Sweet Cheeks, thank you for joining us”<br/>-“what happened to ’moving boxes’ ?”<br/>Tony, still playing his song, answered: <br/>-“I wanted to check if my guitar was still tuned. Spoiler alert, it was not, and Tali asked me to play a song for her. I could not resist her David pleading eyes” <br/>Ziva squint her eyes. She was leaning on the door with her arms crossed around her chest. It did not stop Tony from continuing his song, on the contrary he walked to Ziva and used all his charming skills to get a smile from her. It worked. How could she be upset at him for being so charming. Once he had reached Ziva. he placed a kiss on Adam’s head, still playing his song and waited for Ziva to give him a kiss. She hesitated and finally granted him with the reward he was waiting for. The day went on until the house was finally starting to look like a functional house and not a cardboard boxes warehouse. </p><p>During the evening, someone knocked on their door. Tony opened the door. A man and a woman were standing on his doorstep with a young girl, probably around the age of Tali. They introduced themselves as Tony and Ziva’s neighbors. Tony invited them inside and apologized for the mess. Ziva soon joined them with Adam and Tali in the backyard. Tony introduced them: <br/>-“This is my wife, Ziva and this is Tali and Adam. Ziva this is Jerry, his wife Sharon and their daughter Emily”<br/>Ziva greeted them and Tali asked if she could show her bedroom to Emily. After spending the entire afternoon together, the neighbor left. Tony was clearing the backyard dining table, Ziva was looking at him with a smirk. She said: <br/>-“they are nice”<br/>-“yes, Jerry looks like a fun guy. And he loves movies”<br/>-“she’s sexy..”<br/>-“what ?”<br/>-“Sharon.. she’s a pretty beautiful woman” <br/>-“really ? I haven’t noticed”<br/>Ziva threw the wet sponge to his face and did not miss her target: <br/>-“Liar. The old DiNozzo would have drooled over her perfect body” <br/>Tony walked to Ziva and grabbed her waist:<br/>-“oh so this is it.. you are jealous” <br/>-“I am not ..”<br/>Tony cut her off: <br/>-“.. you are jealous that I might find another woman more attractive than you. You are right, the old DiNozzo would have ‘drooled over’ her perfect body BUT today’s ‘very handsome and funny’ DiNozzo is married to a very sexy woman and he does not care about any other women because these women cannot compete with the sexiness of my middle-east beauty” <br/>He kissed her with passion to prove his point. The kiss was lasting for long minutes and was becoming more arousing every minute until they heard Tali yielling: <br/>-“IMA ! I think Adam just pooped in his diaper” <br/>Tony and Ziva sighed. The kiss was suddenly less sexy. Tony said: <br/>-“YOU REALLY HAVE TO WORK ON YOUR TIMING TALI” <br/>And Ziva walked inside to take care of Adam. </p><p> </p><p>A few weeks later. The family was now living their life in a beautiful house. They were trying to accommodate to their new life as a family of four living in D.C. The first weeks had been pretty challenging for Tali but Tony and Ziva were doing their best to make things smoother. McGee and Gibbs have helped a lot to get the house ready. Tony was in the living room playing with Adam when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw “Elf lord” on it. He answered his phone by saying: <br/>-“how’s my favorite Elf Lord doing ?”<br/>-“Hey Tony, you remember when you offered a trumpet and a drum to morgan and john so they could make a lot of noise and drive us crazy ?” <br/>-“yeah ! That was a good one admit it! Your twins are really gifted you should be proud” <br/>McGee felt the irony in Tony’s voice. He smiled and said:<br/>-“remember I told you I would get my revenge? That day is today” <br/>-“you think you’re going to scare me McHarmless ?”<br/>-“come out and see for yourself” <br/>McGee hung up the phone and Tony looked through the window. McGee was holding a puppy in his arms. Tony’s eyes widened. He could not believe it. He rushed out from the house. He still had time to stop this as long as Tali was not aware of it: <br/>-“what is this ?”<br/>McGee smiled: <br/>-“this is your dog” <br/>-“no it’s not ! Take it back to where ever you found it” <br/>Tony peaked over his shoulder to be sure that Tali was not around. <br/>-“won’t happen”<br/>-“you are taking this to the next level McGee ! You have no idea what’s coming for you next if you do that. You can still back out” <br/>-“UNCLE TIMMY !!”<br/>Too late. Tony closed his eyes in despair. McGee walked past Tony and knelt in front of Tali: <br/>-“look what uncle Timmy brought you” <br/>Tali was already in love with the puppy. She petted the puppy’s head and turned to her father: <br/>-“oh he is so cute, look Aba” <br/>Tony tried his best to smile: <br/>-“yeah sweetheart, I can see. We really need to find a way to thank uncle Tim in a proper way” <br/>Tali took the dog to show it to her mom and shouted: <br/>-“come on aba ! Ima has to see it” <br/>Before following his daughter Tony looked at McGee and said:<br/>-“you brought this on yourself McDoomed ! We are at war !”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ziva was sitting on the floor next to the couch in the living room and she was holding Adam in front of her to help him stand on his feet. Adam was focused on the little puppy that was chewing on the coffee table leg far away from him. Tony and Tali walked in, they were apparently trying to fix a disagreement: <br/>-“no Tali, Mister Chewie is a dog and dogs do not sleep in children’s beds.”<br/>-“please Aba, he is so little” <br/>-“I said no Tali. We bought a very beautiful, comfortable and very expensive dog bed for Chewie so he’s gonna use it, like every other dog before him” <br/>Tali turned to her mom and complained in Hebrew. Tony continued: <br/>-“hebrew isn’t gonna save you. Ima agrees with me.”<br/>He turned to Ziva, so did Tali. Ziva saw her daughter’s pleading face and her husband face asking for backup. Tali’s face was breaking her heart but she knew that Tony was right. She had to support him on this: <br/>-“aba is right Tali. Chewie has to learn to sleep in his own bed” <br/>As the conversation went on, Adam let go of Ziva’s hand and walked to the puppy all by himself. Ziva could not believe it. Her baby was taking his first step. She stopped the argument between Tali and Tony and said: <br/>-“Tony look !” <br/>He could not believe it either. His son was walking and he had no idea that this meant that from now on,  a brand new world of mischief was opened to Adam. Tony knelt a few feet away from Adam and called him:<br/>-“come on buddy, come see Aba” <br/>Adam looked at his father and turned his attention back on the puppy. He walked to the dog and collapsed right before him. Tony looked at the dog with threatening eyes:<br/>-“you !” <br/>The next morning when Tony walked to Tali’s room to wake her up he was not even surprised to find Chewie sleeping in Tali’s arms on her bed. His first thought was that this child was as stubborn as her mother and it actually made him smile. </p><p>It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The DiNozzos were still asleep. Only the sound of birds could be heard. Tony woke up 30 minutes later. He was thirsty. He looked at Ziva next to him. She was still deeply asleep. He had a furious desire to wake her up with kisses on her neck to enjoy this sunday morning before the kids wake up. But he is still thirsty. He will try that option once he had quenched his thirst. He walked downstairs, quietly enough not to wake up the kids, which would have been very unfortunate for his sexy awakening plan. While getting downstairs he could hear the sound of someone cutting wood with a saw. He thought ‘what kind of psychopath cuts woods at 8am on a Sunday’. He grabbed a glass, filled it with water and walk to the window. He almost spit his sip out when he saw that the psychopath cutting woods was actually Gibbs. He cursed in his mind as he saw his bedroom plans going away. He walked out of the house. Gibbs raised his head to Tony and said: <br/>-”nice outfit DiNozzo”<br/>Tony looked at his pajama and said:<br/>-“yes this is what normal people are wearing at this time of the day. Please tell me you are not building a boat on my driveway” <br/>Gibbs smirked. Tony continued: <br/>-“what is all of this ?”<br/>Gibbs pointed at the tree in front of the house and said: <br/>-“my grand daughter asked me to build her a treehouse, I am building a treehouse..” <br/>Tony wanted to argue about the fact that it was very early for such a task but Gibbs cut him off by handing him a saw. Tony got the message. He sighed and grabbed some wooden planks. </p><p>When Ziva woke up she was surprised not to find her husband next to her. He was usually the last one to wake up and sometimes she had to threaten him to sprinkle him with a glass of water to get him out of bed. She heard a hammer blow followed by a curse coming from a familiar voice. She got out of bed and looked through the window. Tony was sitting on a branch of their front yard tree, a hammer in one hand and his thumb in his mouth. No doubt that he missed his target a few seconds earlier. She heard babbling coming from the bedroom next door. She walked inside Adam bedroom and found him standing on his crib, with the help of the wooden fence. He smiled as he saw his mother:<br/>-“daddy woke you up with his loud voice ? you want to go see him ?” <br/>Adam babbled again. <br/>-“let’s go make some coffee for him”<br/>She walked downstairs and was welcomed by Chewie who was running around the house. She walked past Chewie’s bed and saw one of Tony’s most expensive pair of shoes in it. She looked at Chewie and said: <br/>-“you are going to be in big trouble for chewing his favorite shoes” <br/>Chewie was looking at her, with his tongue hanging out and his wagging tail. She poured two mugs with hot coffee and walked out of the house holding Adam by the hand to help him walk. As he saw them Tony said:<br/>-“hey look who’s there ! My little walking monster” <br/>Gibbs welcomed her with a kiss on her forehead, Tony jumped from the branch:<br/>-“coffee ?” She asked. <br/>Tony answered positively as he took a mug from her hand and kissed her right after. She smiled back at him and sweped some sawdust away from his hair.<br/>Tony took Adam in his arms and said: <br/>-“wanna help aba build a treehouse for your big sister ? She’s gonna love it” <br/>They returned to their work after the coffee break. A few moments later and after a few more smashed fingers, Tali walked out of the house still in her pajamas. As she saw the tree house she screamed and rushed to Gibbs. She hugged him and thanked him. Tony jumped again from his branch and said:<br/>-“what about me ? Can I have a hug ? I helped him building it ! And I’ve almost lost all my fingers because of it” <br/>Tali laughed at the funny and childish behavior of her father and gave him a hug too. </p><p>It was around noon. The tree house was almost finished. Tali was playing with Chewie around the front yard. Ziva walked out from the house and said:<br/>-“Time for our brave sunday workers to take a lunch break. Go wash your hands, lunch is ready” <br/>Tony and Gibbs looked at each other with an amused smile. <br/>-“yes Ma’am” answered Gibbs.<br/>10 minutes later Tony walked out from the bathroom and found Ziva and Tali standing and smiling in the living room in front of Chewie’s bed. They were looking pretty weird. He asked: <br/>-“what’s wrong ?”<br/>Ziva faked to be surprised: <br/>-“what do you mean ‘what’s wrong’ nothing’s wrong ? Why do you want something to be wrong ?”<br/>Gibbs joined them. He looked behind Ziva’s back and saw the shoes still in Chewie’s bed. He smiled. Tony continued: <br/>-“you look weird! What is it ?” <br/>He knew Ziva and Tali were trying to hide something from him. He gently pushed them away and saw the crime scene. <br/>-“no ! Nononononon ! Not my favorite shoes!” <br/>-“these are just shoes Tony ! And if you had not left them lying around he would never have found them” <br/>-“I’m gonna kill McGee !” <br/>They left Tony mourning his shoes and everyone then gathered around lunch in the backyard. It was a beautiful and sunny Sunday. A perfect day to share family time.<br/>During the evening, Gibbs and Tony finished the tree house and Tali hosted the big opening ceremony, with the ribbon, the scissors and the solemn speech. She was such a clown sometimes. She was such a DiNozzo. <br/>⠀<br/>It was the end of the day. Tali was playing with Emily, the neighbour’s daughter, in the backyard. Ziva walked down the stairs when she saw Chewie running through the house with one of Tony’s most expensive shoes in his mouth. Of course Tony was running after him. Ziva thought: “again ?”. Adam whined as she placed him in his playpen: ⠀<br/>-“Ima is coming back, she have to save Chewie’s life”<br/>Tony was running after the dog and Ziva was running after Tony when the doorbell rang. Ziva opened the door and was very surprised to see Vance standing there:⠀<br/>-“Director”⠀<br/>-“Good evening agen…” he paused “good evening Ziva” ⠀<br/>Behind Ziva appeared a triumphant Tony with his shoe in one hand and Chewie on the other. He waved the shoe and shouted: ⠀<br/>-“I GOT IT !” ⠀<br/>He froze with his shoe still up in the air as he saw Vance in the entrance. ⠀<br/>-“Director ? What are you doing here ? Something’s wrong at the office ?”⠀<br/>-“Nice shoe DiNozzo. No, everything’s fine at the office. I am here to talk to you about something”⠀<br/>They led Vance to the living room and offered him a drink. Vance said:⠀<br/>-“I am here to make you an offer. Two of our training officers have resigned. I need 2 training officers to train the future NCIS agents and I want you to handle that task. I know this is nothing like the work on the field but I thought ‘who would be more qualified for this job than 2 of my best former field agents” ⠀<br/>Tony smiled like a child after Vance’s last words and said: ⠀<br/>-“probies… probies everywhere” ⠀<br/>Ziva was suddenly more tense. She had been thinking about getting back to work but she was not sure NCIS was a good idea. Vance noticed her hesitation  and said: ⠀<br/>-“I don’t need an answer now, I just want you to think about it” ⠀<br/>Tony who was still fantasizing asked:⠀<br/>-“can I have a parking spot with my name on it ?” ⠀<br/>Ziva was not even surprised that Tony had already made up his mind about it. She remained silent for most of the discussion. ⠀</p><p> </p><p>It was late. Ziva cuddled up to Tony’s side. She was still torturing her mind with Vance’s proposition. Tony asked: <br/>-“you are still thinking about Vance’s proposition?”<br/>She sighed: <br/>-“What about the kids ? Who’s gonna take care of them. I am not sure this is a good idea” <br/>-“And I think this is the best idea”<br/>Ziva laughed:<br/>-“of course you do, you will be able to talk about yourself and your exploits all day long and get paid for that”<br/>-“and you will be able to kick some probies ass all day and scare them to death.. and for the kids: come on ! You are not going to stay at home forever with them. NCIS has a great daycare system or we can hire a nanny. You have to think about your needs sometimes. You need this. We will be a hell of a team, good cop, bad cop, working together again.. I will definitely be the good cop” <br/>-“I will be the bad cop? They are going to hate you !”<br/>-“what ? Why ? I’m a nice guy.”<br/>-“yeah a nice guy who’s gonna call them ‘probie’ or give them stupid names and brag about his glorious NCIS career as ‘very special agent Anthony DiNozzo’. And by the way, if you brag about how many women you’ve dated thanks to your badge, it’s your ass that I’m gonna kick !” <br/>And Tony’s work was done. By just talking about what working at NCIS could be, he had succeeded in soothing all of Ziva’s concerns. Tony went back to his more serious attitude and said:<br/>-“come on you know this is what you need. Working for NCIS again but no more danger, no more ‘hurting people with the decision that you make’, just teaching probies to be as good of a cop as you were” <br/>Ziva smiled and whispered:<br/>-“I love you” <br/>Tony smiled back and said:<br/>-“I understand, I am a pretty handsome, funny and caring husband...”<br/>Ziva gave him a punch in his groin which made him moan. He said with a moaning voice:<br/>-“alright, not the answer you were waiting for. I love you too” <br/>As they kiss Tony’s attention was dragged by the sound of leather being chewed not far from them. He looked at Chewie with resignation and said: <br/>-“why is it always MY shoes ?”<br/>-“it’s his way of showing that he loves you too” </p><p>-“are you sure you gonna be able to handle them on your own Tony ?”<br/>-“don’t worry, we’ll be fine ! It’s just a couple of days and let me remind you that I received the title of ‘number one dad’ ” <br/>He showed his mug that was made at school by Tali for father’s day a couple of years ago.<br/>Ziva was going to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Georgia for a couple of days to get ready for her future work at NCIS as a physical training officer. <br/>Ziva kissed and hugged Tali: <br/>-“you listen to Aba” <br/>-“I will” <br/>Ziva added in hebrew: <br/>-“don’t drive him crazy ok”<br/>And the little girl laughed and nodded. <br/>Ziva rose to face Tony and said: <br/>-“I’ll call you when we arrive. Don’t let her watch movies she’s not supposed to watch EVEN if you are hiding her eyes, understood ?” <br/>-“copy that boss” <br/>-“I’m gonna miss you”<br/>She kissed Tony. He held her head to make the kiss last longer. <br/>Adam, in Tony’s arms, babbled. Ziva turned her attention to him: <br/>-“Yeah, Ima’s gonna miss her little baby too” <br/>And she kissed Adam’s forehead and chubby bare feet. <br/>Ziva stopped right before leaving and said to Tony: <br/>-“be nice with Chewie..”<br/>Tony put on his displeased face and answered:<br/>-“I will” <br/>Ziva walked out of the house. Tony turned to Tali and asked: <br/>-“cereals for dinner ?”<br/>Tali raised her arms and yelled:<br/>-“ First day without Ziva. Tony was spending his time running after the dog, stopping him from chewing every furniture in the house, watching over Adam, whose favorite hobby was to try to climb the stairs, helping Tali with her homework, changing diapers and picking up chewie’s poop (he had actually considered the idea of putting a diaper on chewie to solve this problem). Tony thought that handling the kids all by himself for the weekend would not be harder than when Ziva goes to her gym class but he was wrong. He haven’t been able to sit since he got up this morning. His new favorite sentences were “Adam stop pulling your sister’s hair” and “take that out of your mouth” since he was almost saying these every 5 minutes. Tony decided to take the kids to the park. <br/>Tali was playing with other kids on the playground while Tony was playing with Adam on the sandbox. He was amazed by how fast his son was learning and growing up. Adam’s hands were dirty so Tony walked back to the stroller to get some baby wipes. The stroller was only a few feet away and on his way to get there he heard a woman’s voice calling him. He was shocked to see Wendy, his former fiancé. What was she doing here.</p><p> </p><p>-“oh my god Tony. It’s been a while”<br/>-“Wendy ! What are you doing here ?” <br/>Tony was clearly uncomfortable with this meeting. She answered: <br/>-“I should be the one asking..”<br/>They talk for a few minutes but Tony was more preoccupied by Adam who was trying to answer the question: can I eat sand ? When he moved his hand full of sand to his mouth Tony apologized to Wendy and rushed to the sandbox. <br/>-“hey buddy, what did Aba said about eating sand ?” <br/>Tony washed the sand off Adam’s hand and took him in his arms. Wendy was shocked: <br/>-“who's that handsome little man ?” <br/>-“that’s my son Adam” <br/>-“nice to meet you Adam. I was sure that this would happen someday you know, with all your one night stands, one of them had to end up pregnant”<br/>Tony couldn’t believe it. She was really thinking that Adam was the result of a one night stand accident. He smiled and said:<br/>-“a one night stand yeah. Actually let me introduce you to someone else. TALI, COME HERE ONE SEC’!” <br/>Tali ran to her father. <br/>-“Wendy, this is Adam’s big sister, Tali and no they are not ‘one night stand accidents’ ” <br/>This was not entirely true but it did not matter. Tony showed his wedding ring with a proud smile <br/>Wendy was embarrassed, she mumbled:<br/>-“Tony I am so sorry I didn’t mean to be rude..” <br/>-“don’t worry it’s fine. I can’t blame you” <br/>Tali asked: <br/>-“aba can I go back now ?” <br/>-“yeah sure go back”<br/>Wendy asked: <br/>-“aba ?”<br/>-“it’s hebrew, it means dad”<br/>-“hebrew ? So I guess you finally opened your heart to her. I knew she was the one”<br/>Tony sighed: <br/>-“it’s way more complicated than that and I guess I will never have enough of one day to tell you the whole story but yes Ziva is the one”</p><p>Tony was looking for Tali. She was not in her bedroom. He has been looking for her through the entire house. He looked through the kitchen window and saw some lights coming from the treehouse in the front yard. Tali has been pretty quiet and reserved since Ziva left. He climbed up the ladder, worried that it might not handle his weight and said: <br/>-“knock, knock. Can I come in ?” <br/>Tali looked at her father and just shrugged her shoulders. <br/>-“do I need a password ?”<br/>She shook her head, apparently not really in the mood. Tony climbed up and sat on the floor next to Tali. His position was pretty uncomfortable, the house was clearly not made for someone as tall as Tony. He asked: <br/>-“this is a nice house.. you should get a password for it” <br/>She shrugged her shoulders again. <br/>-“you want to tell me what’s going on ?” <br/>There was a long silence, then Tali said: <br/>-“I miss Ima” <br/>Tony placed his arm behind Tali’s head and pulled her closer: <br/>-“I miss her too you know”<br/>-“I dreamed that Ima was gone again and our house was on fire…” <br/>Tony’s heart ached when he heard her last words. He kissed her forehead and hugged her tight. He whispered <br/>-“my baby.. Ima is fine.”<br/>Tony knew that Tali was too young to remember the fire back in Israel but maybe somewhere in her mind some traces of that traumatic event were still hidden. Tony grabbed her face and said: <br/>-“what about tomorrow, we make some cool welcoming decoration for when Ima comes back ?”<br/>Tali smiled and nodded. <br/>-“alright then. Come on before we have to call Ima to tell her that I am stuck in that very tiny house” <br/>As they walked back inside Tali asked:<br/>-“can we eat Pizza tonight ?”<br/>-“Pizza ? Hm… sounds like a plan”</p><p>Ziva would be home soon. The decoration was ready. Tony was standing on a chair in the middle of the entrance, to set the homemade welcoming banner that Tali had crafted for her mother. Tali was giving him instruction to place it. He finally found the right spot and got off the chair. He proudly said: <br/>-“there you go ! Ima’s gonna love it”<br/>Tali and Tony high fived and Tony’s look stopped on the living room table. It was a complete mess. Paint, paintbrush, papers and scissors everywhere. Tony winced and said:<br/>-“but she’s not gonna like that” He paused “Alright Little Agent Tali DiNozzo. Our mission, should we choose to accept it is cleaning the living room before Ima comes back” <br/>Tali winced. This was not as fun as painting decorations. She asked: <br/>-“Can I go take my super-agent cap ?” <br/>Tony smiled and said: <br/>-“of course, this is mandatory to walk on a crime scene like that” <br/>Tali rushed upstairs and came back a few seconds later with her NCIS cap on her head. Tony took his deepest voice to add a dramatic effect on what he was going to say:<br/>-“alright super agent, let’s clean up that living room” <br/>The cleaning mission was aborted after 20 minutes because Tali, who was her father’s daughter, had started a paint battle with her father. A battle that she was sure to lose. The living room was now clean but Tony and Tali were definitely not. They washed the paint away from their faces and hair when they heard a car on the driveway. Tali shouted: <br/>-“IT’S IMA !” <br/>She grabbed her father’s hand and ran downstairs. </p><p> </p><p>It was time for Ziva to come back home. She had missed her family so much. She nervously walked to the door and opened it. She was welcomed with cheers and dog barks. Tony and Tali were both standing in front of the stairs, Adam in Tony’s arms. The handmade banner saying “Welcome Home Ima” was floating above their heads. Tali rushed to her mother with some flowers she had picked up in the backyard and crashed into her arms: <br/>-“We missed you Ima”<br/>-“I missed you too sweetheart”<br/>Ziva kissed her daughter and then walked to Tony and Adam. She grabbed Adam from Tony’s arms and kissed her son. Tony said: <br/>-“no kiss for your husband ? Your husband who really rocks at handling two kids and a dog all by himself ?”<br/>Ziva kissed Tony. She noticed some dry paint on his cheek and said: <br/>-“I can see that, the three of them are alive and the house is not on fire. Maybe I should go on a trip more often” <br/>-“alright hold on ok, it was not a walk in the park ! How can such a tiny human have so much energy. By the way I think our son it trying to reconnect with his origins, he has a strong passion for sand”<br/>-“really ?”<br/>Tali added with a lot of excitement: <br/>-“yeah we went to the park and when Aba was talking with Wendy, Adam tried to eat some sand” <br/>Tony panicked, Ziva frowned:<br/>-“Wendy ?”<br/>Tony stammered: <br/>-“yeah well, it’s not a big deal ok, she just happened to be there and we talked” <br/>Ziva was clearly jealous. Tony tried to change the subject: <br/>-“alright why don’t we go to the kitchen and show Ima what we baked for her ?”<br/>Ziva followed them in the kitchen without saying a thing but Tony clearly knew that she was not done with him. </p><p> </p><p>After dinner. Ziva was in the kitchen. She was finishing cleaning some plates. Tony walked in, a glass of red wine in his hand. He stopped to take a look at his wife. She was quiet. But he could clearly see that she was still thinking about his encounter with Wendy. She was sexy, when she was upset, even more when she was jealous. He bit his lower lip and walked closer to her. He stopped right behind her, moved some curls away from her neck and placed his lips on the crook of her neck. She did not react. He just whispered: <br/>-“you are jealous” <br/>She kept washing some kitchenware: <br/>-“I am not jealous” <br/>He placed his hands on her waist, kept kissing her neck and with his sexy whispers he added:<br/>-“yes you are. You’ve always been jealous. You’ve been jealous about EJ, you’ve been jealous about Jeanne and Wendy..”<br/>Ziva drew a large kitchen knife from the sink and waved it in front of her so he could see it: <br/>-“are you really sure you want to talk about them when I have this in my hand ?” <br/>Tony spun her around. She was now facing him. He locked his eyes into hers and said with a calm voice: <br/>-“Even if I think jealousy looks very sexy on you, you don’t have to be jealous Ziva. She doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. Actually we talked a lot about you, I told her how good it was to have a bride that does not run away. And yes, my eyes stayed on her face the whole time. Satisfied?”<br/>Ziva knew she had no reasons to be worried about it but it was in her nature. She was jealous. She has seen too many women around Tony in the past. She was about to say something when Tony grabbed the knife from her hand and threw it back into the sink. He placed his hands back on her waist, pulled her closer, pressed his body against her and asked: <br/>-“Now, can we stop talking about my ex and can you please let me show you how much I’ve missed you ?”<br/>Ziva bit her lip and smiled. It was definitely the answer Tony was looking for. He captured her lips with his and they never broke the kiss until they were finally lying in their bed.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Saturday night at the DiNozzo’s house. On Monday Tony and Ziva were going back to work. Ziva was still nervous about how this could affect her children. Ziva and Tali were inside the house. All the curtains were closed and Tali was getting impatient. Tony had ordered them to stay inside while he was preparing something outside and of course they were not allowed to peek. Tali walked quietly to the curtains and she was soon stopped by her mother who told her, in her mother tongue, that her father would be really pissed if she was ruining the surprise. After 20 more minutes, Tony walked in and victoriously announced: ⠀<br/>-“everything is ready for you m’ladies” ⠀<br/>Tali rushed outside followed by Ziva. Ziva’s eyes widened when she saw the backyard. Tony had set up lights on the trees, improvised a tent with covers and mattress and placed a fire pit in the middle of the garden. Tali turned to her father with excitement and asked: ⠀<br/>-“are we gonna go camping in the garden ?” ⠀<br/>-“yes we are” ⠀<br/>Tali was ecstatic. She was running around the garden, to discover the homemade campsite. Tony walked to Ziva, handed her a glass of wine and victoriously whispered to Ziva’s ear: ⠀<br/>-“you still think that it’s a stupid idea to sleep outside when we have a house ?”⠀<br/>-“shut up” ⠀<br/>Tony laughed and said: ⠀<br/>-“that’s what I thought !” ⠀<br/>He grabbed her hand and lead her to the campsite. They sat around the fire and Tali soon asked for her father to play a song with his guitar. ⠀ </p><p>They were all gathered around the fire pit, roasting marshmallows, playing songs and making jokes. Adam was long gone asleep. Ziva was cuddled up to Tony. It was getting pretty late but Tali was still overexcited. She asked: <br/>-“Aba can you tell me another story about you and Ima ?” <br/>-“It’s getting late Tali”<br/>Tali put on her puppy dog eyes and begged:<br/>-“Aba pleeeeease”<br/>-“alright”<br/>Ziva laughed at her husband weakness when it comes to their children. Tony continued: <br/>-“alright, I told you about the time me and Ima were trapped in a box, I told you about when we went to Paris for the first time but I have never told you about the first time I met you ?”<br/>Tali nodded and lay down on the floor, her chin resting on her hands. <br/>-“so I was at work and I was very worried because I have heard that Ima was not doing ok. Then uncle Vance asked me to come in his office and I was very sad but then a little girl came in and I saw you. You were like this tall (he gestured to show her how tall she was) and you were the cutest little girl I have ever seen in my life” <br/>-“Were you still sad ?”<br/>-“oh I was still sad because Ima was not there but I was really happy because she had given me the most beautiful gift I had ever received” <br/>Next to him Ziva was a bit tense. She knew Tony was avoiding all the parts about her potential death but she could not stop thinking about the pain and fear that she had caused. Tony tightened his arm around her to reassure her. <br/>-“what happened after ?”<br/>-“after ? I took you on a trip with me. We were walking in the streets in Egypt to find Ima. I has been a long day and we were both very tired. Then you pulled my hand and you just said: ‘ima’ so I looked in the direction and I saw Ima”<br/>-“she was crying ?”<br/>-“oh yes she was crying and she never stopped crying until you were in her arms. After we spent the evening together and what happened after is not for children’s ears” <br/>He smirked at Ziva in remembrance of the healing night they had shared in Cairo. <br/>Those memories were still painful for Ziva but she she was happy to remember that this nightmare led to this moment of pure happiness. </p><p> </p><p>Tony walked inside the bathroom, he looked at the shower glass door and he could clearly see Ziva’s naked silhouette through the condensation. A little smirk appeared on his face. He opened the shower door and was stopped by Ziva’s hand on his chest.<br/>-“stop!”<br/>-“what ?”<br/>-“I thought I had been pretty clear about you joining me in the shower” <br/>-“I thought you were joking” <br/>-“I was supposed to go for a run before work this morning but I could not because someone was too ‘awake’ to let me go” she clearly glanced at Tony’s manhood. “Now we only have time for a ‘normal’ shower before we get late on our first day at work AND we both know that the only way for me to have a normal shower is by keeping a safe distance between you and me” Tony admitted his responsibility with a semi proud and guilty smile. <br/>-“alright.. your loss” <br/>Ziva resumed her shower and Tony walked to the sink. He smirked once again and turned the hot water on which made Ziva yelled when her hot shower suddenly turned into a freezing one. Tony innocently said: <br/>-“oups sorry...”<br/>He waited for a few seconds and turned the hot water on again. Ziva yelled again: <br/>-“TONY STOP OR I’M GONNA HURT YOU !”<br/>Tony laughed and said: <br/>-“no ‘hot’ shower for me, no hot shower for you sweetcheeks” <br/>Ziva grabbed the shower head, opened the shower door and sprayed Tony with cold water. He yelled in return and rushed inside the shower to stop her. Tali was standing in the corridor listening to her parents’ childish fight and she knew she would be late for school today. </p><p> </p><p>Tony and Ziva were walking to the daycare building, Adam in Tony’s arms. Ziva was walking fast when Tony was limping along a few feet back from her. She stopped, looked at her watch and turned to see what Tony was up to: <br/>-“come on Tony ! We are already late !” <br/>-“I am not sure this is a good idea. Why don’t we get a nanny instead of daycare” <br/>-“what is wrong with daycare ? It was your idea !” <br/>-“I know but..”<br/>-“but what ?” Her voice softened as she booped Adam’s nose and caressed his chubby cheeks: “Adam is going to be very happy, he’s going to play with many other children, he’s going to do a lot of stuff and we will come to pick him up after work” she turns her voice back into ‘upset mode’ “and Aba is going to hurry up before I decide to make him hurry myself” <br/>She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the building. The daycare room was full of kids. Running around, screaming and crying. Tony was struck by his old anxiety but this time he was nervous about leaving his son to complete strangers, with kids that could give him all sorts of disease, disease that he would get afterwards. Tony loved his children but he was not really fond of other people’s children. He was paralyzed in the middle of the room, holding his son close to him. Ziva was waiting for one of the childcare worker to welcome them. Tony whispered to her: <br/>-“children are mean Ziva.. they steal toys, they pull hair, they hit and bite.. they are the evil version of people” <br/>Ziva smiled to the woman who was coming toward them and whispered:<br/>-“stop it ! We have to make a good impression” <br/>Ziva introduced herself and her husband. It was now time to leave Adam but Tony was still holding him tightly. There was an awkward silence between Ziva and the woman then Ziva nudged Tony to make him react. Tony sighed and gave Adam to the childcare worker. They both kissed their son and Ziva forced Tony to get out of the room by pulling him by the arm. </p><p> </p><p>The group of trainees entered the dark room. They were chatting about the rumors they had heard about their new instructors. One of them said: <br/>-“I’ve heard that she can kill you with a paper clip” <br/>-“I’ve heard she was mossad”<br/>-“what ? Who told you that ?” <br/>-“that guy.. hm.. Torres” <br/>-“mossad ? I thought we were here to become investigators, not assassins. Mossad or not there is nothing she can do that I can’t”<br/>He smiled with pride and walk further inside the room. As he was about to take another step he was stopped by the blade of a knife that flew through the room and finishing its course on the wall right next to his face. For a second everyone in the room had a heart attack. Ziva stepped out from the shadow and walked toward the trainees. They seemed to be paralyzed. She took her knife from the wall and walked around the trainee she had targeted a few minutes earlier. She was looking at him from head to toe, walking slowly around him like a predator. She was wearing her famous ponytail, the one that Tony loved so much. She looked even more dangerous with it. She was playing with her knife. She stopped and asked: <br/>-“your name ?”<br/>He stammered:<br/>-“fo..foster, Ma’am”<br/>She smirked and said: <br/>-“well Mister Foster… take that knife from me” <br/>He smiled confusedly:<br/>-“what ?”<br/>-“it’s a simple order.. take that knife from me” <br/>Everyone was looking at the scene knowing that he was trapped. Refusing to take the knife would be  disobedient and trying to take the knife would be painful. He laughed at the stupidity of the situation and grabbed the knife.. or tried to. As soon as his hand touched the knife handle, Ziva’s hands were on his neck and in less than a minute he was down on the ground choking with Ziva’s leg around his neck. <br/>-“lesson number one: never underestimate your enemy, you might be taller, stronger or faster, it is useless if you are dumber”</p><p> </p><p>Ziva was on the floor, her leg still locked around the neck of the trainee, when Tony walked in with a bag of popcorn in his hand. He grabbed some popcorn and threw them in his mouth. He said while chewing: <br/>-“I see you’ve met my lovely wife” he walked to them and bent over to check at the boy’s face “Ziva I think he is turning blue, maybe you should release him, Vance is not gonna be happy if we break one of his toys on day one” <br/>Ziva released the trainee and let Tony introduce himself: <br/>-“alright listen up probies, I am former very special agent Anthony DiNozzo and this is my partner in crime former special agent Ziva David. Rule number one..”<br/>One of the trainee cut him off by saying: <br/>-“..don’t talk about fight club ?”<br/>Everybody laughed. Tony froze and walked to the trainee. He was standing really close to his face. He smirked and forced a laugh before turning into a very upset attitude:<br/>-“oh you want to be the funny one ? The one who cracks jokes and is the ‘cool’ guy ? Sorry to crush your dreams Probie but this guy is me and you better get in line with your fellow probies or you’ll be next on her list” Ziva rolled her eyes. He was really enjoying this. Tony continued: <br/>-“now if I can continue, rule number one: don’t make her angry, it's dangerous for your life expectancy” <br/>He pointed at Ziva, who frowned at him: <br/>-“if you do make her angry, I will have a very bad day and someone will have to pay for it. Rule number 2: don’t use double negatives, it confuses her and it makes her angry, which brings us back to rule number one which is ?”<br/>They answered in unison: <br/>-“don’t make her angry” <br/>-“very good ! They learn fast”</p><p> </p><p>It was now lunch break, the trainees were gone and Ziva was putting the practice gear away while Tony was eating his popcorns and playing with his phone. Ziva frowned:<br/>-“are you going to help me ?”<br/>-“I’m busy. I have to beat McGee at this stupid game” <br/>-“why do you play it if you think this is a stupid game”<br/>-“because McGee said I was too old for it and I would never beat his high score” <br/>-“you are such a child sometimes” <br/>-“you already knew it when you said yes” <br/>He waved his ring finger with his wedding band.<br/>As an answer Ziva threw one of the boxing headgear to him which made him grumble.<br/>When Vance entered the room, Tony jumped out of surprise, spin around quickly and hid the popcorns behind his back. Vance stood still in front of Tony, looking at him with his very serious eyes. Tony was not moving. Vance said: <br/>-“are you ok DiNozzo ?”<br/>Tony simply nodded as an answer. Vance was not a fool, he asked: <br/>-“is your mouth full DiNozzo ?”<br/>Tony was trapped. He guiltily nodded and revealed the popcorns hidden behind his back. Vance turned to Ziva and said: <br/>-“he hasn’t changed ?”<br/>Ziva smiled and said: <br/>-“no he has not.. he is still so…. Tony”<br/>Tony couldn’t help himself. Even with a mouth full of popcorn he had to ask: <br/>-“what’s that supposed to mean ?”<br/>Some popcorn ended up on Vance’s jacket. Tony looked sorry and wiped Vance’s shoulders with his hand and apologized. While he was still staring at Tony, Vances said to Ziva: <br/>-“please make sure that he sets a good example for our future recruits”<br/>-“you can count on me Director, I’ll keep him on the right path” <br/>She winked at Tony and he winced, knowing that she would take her job very seriously.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It has been a week since Tony and Ziva started their new job. Everything was going well and they were slowly getting used to work together again. It was feeling pretty natural to them. Adam was almost 12 months old. It would be soon his first birthday. Tony was in the kitchen trying to make him eat his dinner. He was whispering to Adam: <br/>-“say ‘aba’, come on buddy it’s easy. ‘A-BA’ see..”<br/>Ziva entered the kitchen and said: <br/>-“what do you think you are doing ?” <br/>Tony innocently answered: <br/>-“nothing, why ?”<br/>Ziva frowned: <br/>-“I thought we had an agreement. No influencing, no cheating !”<br/>-“I am not cheating I am showing my son that Aba is easier to pronounce than Ima” <br/>-“this is cheating !”<br/>-“oh come on, tell me you didn’t do the same ?”<br/>Ziva proudly answered:<br/>-“I did not”<br/>-“lying in front of our son is very good for his education.. I’ve heard you yesterday when you were giving him a bath..” <br/>Tali entered the room to know why her mother was not coming back. She rolled her eyes when she realized that they were still bickering over what Adam’s first word would be. When he saw her Adam smiled and said: <br/>-“TA!” <br/>Both Ziva and Tony stopped their bickering and looked at him. Tony asked: <br/>-“what did you just say buddy ?” <br/>Adam looked at his father and repeated: <br/>-“Ta!”<br/>Ziva was proud, she kissed her son’s cheeks and said: <br/>-“we should have known he would say Tali before Ima or Aba” <br/>Tony corrected her: <br/>-“he did not clearly say Tali.. the game is still on” <br/>Ziva grabbed her son, rolled her eyes and said: <br/>-“whatever.. he will say Ima first anyway right baby ?” </p><p>Ziva was in Adam’s room, she was changing his diaper when Tony and Tali entered the house. Ziva walked out with a smile that she lost immediately when she saw Tony looking very upset at Tali. Tony ordered her to go to her bedroom and Ziva saw her leave the room without even looking at her. Ziva was worried: <br/>-“what happened ?”<br/>Tony sighed: <br/>-“she fought”<br/>-“again ?” <br/>-“yes”<br/>-“still with that same kid ?”<br/>-“yeah… the Jefferson’s boy… they want to meet us to try to find a solution” <br/>-“I’m gonna talk to her” <br/>Ziva gave Adam to Tony and walked to Tali’s room. <br/>Tali was sitting on her bed. When Ziva opened the door Tali raised her eyes to her mother then she looked down to the floor, ashamed that her mother might be upset or worse, disappointed. <br/>Ziva walked to the bed and sat next to her. She tucked a lock of hair behind Tali’s ear and said: <br/>-“what happened ?”<br/>-“Are you angry ?”<br/>-“no I am not angry Tali. I just want to know why you keep fighting with that boy” <br/>-“he is mean !” <br/>-“with you ?” <br/>-“no, with my friend, Tara. He’s making her cry, I just wanted to teach him a lesson so he would stop” <br/>Ziva smiled. She was actually proud that her daughter stood for others but she wished she had done it without using her fists. <br/>-“you know that violence is not always the solution” <br/>Tali sighed: <br/>-“I know”<br/>-“But I also know from experience that sometimes it’s hard not to choose this path” <br/>-“you fought when you were a kid ?” <br/>-“All the time.. and that’s why I know that violence never makes things better. It gets you in trouble. Your safta, my mother, she was really upset every time I came back from school with bruises on my face. She was always telling me: ‘People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes’’ I never really understood what she meant. But she was right. Violence is never gonna solve your problems” <br/>Tali took some time to think and said:<br/>-“Am I gonna be in trouble ?” <br/>Ziva smiled and kissed her daughter’s forehead. She whispered: <br/>-“I’ll talk to aba and we‘ll deal with this” <br/>And she stood up. And walked out of the room, leaving Tali to her thoughts. </p><p>The next day, Tony and Ziva were supposed to meet the Jeffersons at Tali’s school. They were walking, hand in hand. When they arrived, the mother sized them up with a very judging look. Tony could feel that Ziva was tense. As they reached the Jeffersons Tony whispered: <br/>-“remember Ziva..self-control, we are here to talk like responsible adults” <br/>Ziva did not answer. <br/>At first the conversation was civil until the woman said: <br/>-“your daughter is a savage” <br/>Ziva’s fists tightened and Tony felt the atmosphere becoming explosive. Ziva was not answering and Tony knew that in her mind she was probably hurting that woman in very painful ways. Ziva answered: <br/>-“your son is harassing her friend, she was only trying to defend her” <br/>They were now barking at each other. Some hebrew cursing was thrown by Ziva and Tony knew the situation was about to escalate. He grabbed Ziva by her shoulder and pushed her away to calm her. <br/>-“I’m gonna hurt that woman, Tony !” <br/>-“I know and that’s why you should go back to the car, now” <br/>-“I am not letting her win” <br/>Ziva was pushing Tony to try to go back to confront her. <br/>-“I am not sure that Tali would be happy to know that her mom is in jail for assaulting someone” <br/>-“I’m not gonna assault her, I’m gonna kill her” <br/>Tony made Ziva spin around and started pushing her back to the car. He said to the Jefferson’s that he would be right back and forced Ziva to sit in the car. <br/>-“you stay there! Don’t force me to handcuff you on the wheel” <br/>Ziva threw a provocative look to Tony and said: <br/>-“you would enjoy that” <br/>-“Yes I would. Let me handle that ok” he kissed her “I love you, I’ll be right back”<br/>When Tony came back to the car after 20 minutes, Ziva was quiet. Tony started the car and drove through the parking lot. He drove past the Jefferson’s car and noticed that the front wheels had been slashed. <br/>He looked at Ziva, she was clearly avoiding his look. He smiled and said: <br/>-“I knew I should have handcuffed you.”<br/>For her only answer, Ziva smiled and looked at the car disappearing in the rear-view mirror. </p><p>Ziva walked out from the gym club with one of her male friends from the gym. They were talking and laughing. Tony had repeated several times to Ziva that this guy wanted to do another kind of physical practice with her and she had repeated that he was just jealous and that Dan was just a friend and he was married. But yet Tony was still jealous. Ziva was giving some advice to Dan about his uppercut when she noticed that someone was looking at her from afar. Leaning on the hood of his car, with his sunglasses on, long after the sun has set and a confident smile on his face. She hugged Dan and waved goodbye to him before walking to Tony. She stopped in front if him and he started: <br/>-“you say he is married ? Not sure his wife would be happy with the way he was looking at your butt, but I mean I can’t blame him… come on turn around lemme check” <br/>He placed his hands on her hips and made her spin. He tilted his head on the left side and examined her buttocks. She laughed at his silliness, rolled her eyes and asked: <br/>-“are you done ?”<br/>-“just a second.. yep I’m done” <br/>He let her turn around and she asked:<br/>-“what are you doing here ? I thought we were supposed to meet at home”<br/>-“change of plans.. I’m taking you on a date”<br/>-“a date ? Where are the kids ?”<br/>-“what kids ? Just kidding.. Tali is at McGee’s house and Adam is with Abby. You know I’ve realized that we never had a date together.. we went straight to the baby making, which I don’t regret of course” he stood up, took Ziva’s bag from her shoulder and led her to the passenger seat “but tonight we are not Ima and Aba anymore, we are Tony and Ziva going on a date after work, as we should have done a long time ago”<br/>-“Can I, at least, go home to take a shower and change clothes ? Or you want to go on a date with a sweaty woman dressed in a yoga pants ?”<br/>-“No pants at all would be better if you ask me but this would have to wait until after the date…”<br/>He winked and started the engine.</p><p> </p><p>Tony had booked a table into a fancy restaurant in downtown D.C. The room was full of couples but when they walked in Tony was really proud to see that all the mens eyes were locked on Ziva. It has been a long time since Tony had seen her wearing a dress and it was still hard for him to resist the urge to take it off from her body. While following the waitress to their table, Tony whispered to Ziva’s ear: <br/>-“your body has a lot of success tonight”<br/>Ziva laughed and said:<br/>-“Nice try, but this will not be enough to convince me to let you have a ‘night-hat’ at my place” <br/>Tony sat and laughed: <br/>-“A night-cap Ziva, not a night-hat” <br/>She frowned:<br/>-“your chance are going away a little more because of that” <br/>-“what ? I need to convince you to let me sleep in my own bed now?”<br/>-“yes, this is the purpose of a date and right now this is not going well for you. If you do not raise your game, you’ll barely have a goodbye kiss on my doorstep”<br/>Tony laughed:<br/>-“alright I accept the challenge, Miss David, get ready to have the best date of your life”</p><p>They were waiting for their food to be served. Ziva looked around and asked:<br/>-“so ? How many women did you bring to this restaurant ?”<br/>-“None, this place is only for you”<br/>Ziva laughed: <br/>-“you’re such a bad liar” <br/>-“No I swear, you are the first woman I’ve taken to this restaurant”<br/>They were staring hungrily at each other, knowing how a night with no kids to take care of would end. Ziva asked:<br/>-“alright! Real question now: what was the first thing you thought when you first met me” <br/>-“hm.. don’t get too close to the fire DiNozzo”<br/>Ziva squinted her eyes. Tony continued: <br/>-“I thought that you were...” he paused to choose his words wisely ”.. different from the women I used to know. And I knew that if we were meant to work together, I would have a lot of trouble respecting Gibbs’ rules. What about you ?”<br/>-“I wanted to sleep with you”<br/>Her honesty caught Tony off guard. He was expecting her to pretend that she didn’t care about him, that she was focused on the mission and only it. He stammered:<br/>-“really ? Why didn’t you ?”<br/>This sounds like a question full of regrets. Ziva chuckled and answered:<br/>-“because I knew you wanted it too.. and you were so confident about your sex appeal.” she rolled her eyes “sleeping with you would have given you credit. You would have been unbearable after that”</p><p>They were waiting for the dessert to be served. Some jazz was played as a background music. Tony asked: <br/>-“wanna dance ?”<br/>Ziva was surprised, this restaurant was not actually a place where you were supposed to dance. Tony stood up and held his hand out to her. Ziva looked around, this could become pretty embarrassing. Tony smiled and said:<br/>-“come on, forget about everyone, I told you sweetcheeks, tonight it’s just you and me”<br/>She grabbed his hand and followed him. And once again he was right. They started to dance slowly. One hand on the small of the back and the other hand entwined with the other’s hand. And it was just the two of them, losing themselves in each other's eyes. Everyone was looking at them but they didn’t care at all. They were far from this restaurant. Far from D.Cc far from this world. For a moment there was no more children, no more friends, no more family. Just them. It was as if they were meeting for the first time but they knew everything about the other. They had experienced that kind of romantic moment in Berlin a few years ago but this moment had been blurred with the manhunt they were assigned to. This time there was nothing else on their mind and none of them had ever experienced that before. It was pure oblivion. He was hers and she was his. </p><p>Tony parked the car in the driveway. They walked to the front door. She unlocked the door and Tony asked: <br/>-“so ? Are you convinced ? Can I have this night-cap ?”<br/>Ziva bit her lower lip and tilted her head: <br/>-“let me think about it” <br/>-“Come on. I really put on a big spread tonight. Best restaurant in town, very funny and handsome guy, romantic dance. I deserve to be rewarded”.<br/>He put on his most charming smile. The DiNozzo signature smile. She bit her lip. She was teasing him. A wide smile spread on her face. In less than a second he grabbed her face and their tongues, entwined together, were soon dancing a ballet full of passion. He pushed her against the wall and attacked the crook of her neck with his lips. She moaned in response. They had been doing this for a few years now but everytime they were having sex they felt as if it was the first time. The first time he was touching her bare skin, the first time he was kissing her, the first time their body were one. He knew her desire by heart and she knew his too. In a whisper she said: <br/>-“bedroom”<br/>He kept kissing her neck, knowing that this would leave marks on her and answered: <br/>-“No. We still have plenty of rooms we haven’t inaugurate yet”<br/>-“what ?”<br/>She was not sure she understood what he meant. <br/>-“kitchen or living-room ?” <br/>She raised an eyebrow. This was pretty arousing. She hesitated and finally answered:<br/>-“living room” <br/>He lifted her and her legs naturally locked themselves around his back. </p><p>An hour later. They were lying on the couch. Ziva was <br/>drawing small circles on Tony’s chest with her finger. She landed a kiss right above her fingers. Tony fingers were caressing her hair. He said: <br/>-“I am hungry”<br/>Ziva laughed: <br/>-“We just ate”<br/>-“No, we had sex. I’ve exerted myself.. I need energy. Let’s cook something”<br/>He jumped from the couch and pulled Ziva from it. She complained:<br/>-“Tony it’s 1am”<br/>After putting on some clothes, he led her to the kitchen. <br/>He was bare chested with only his pants on and Ziva only had time to put on his shirt. <br/>The water was boiling. He threw some pasta inside the saucepan and returned to his favorite activity: teasing his wife. She was cutting some vegetables. He placed his hands on her hips. It had always amazed him how good his hands were fitting on her body. It was as if her body had been designed to fit with his. He kissed her neck exactly on the point where a little bruise was starting to show. He smiled knowing that she will be mad about it tomorrow. It doesn’t matter, she was sexy when she was mad. <br/>He whispered: <br/>-“I am very hungry” <br/>-“Be patient the pasta will be ready in a few minutes. He chuckled: <br/>-“I was not talking about pasta sweetcheeks…”<br/>She smirked, turned around and let him lift her up on the countertop.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day. Tony had been picking Adam up at Abby’s place. He was lying in bed, playing with Adam on his lap. He was showing him how to clap his hands which was making him laugh a lot. Ziva walked inside the bedroom, crossed her arms on her chest and said: <br/>-“he was supposed to take a nap with you Tony” <br/>-“I know but he did not wanted to sleep and I could not either” <br/>She walked to them and said: <br/>-“you will deal with him when he’ll be all grumpy tonight because he did not take a nap” <br/>-“and who’s gonna deal with ‘grumpy-me’ ?”<br/>He smirked. Ziva crawled into the bed and look at her husband playing with his son. It was good to see that strong connection between them. Adam was fond of his father, even though he was always asking for his mother when he needed to be soothed. She was the only one capable to calm him when he was angry, sad or scared. Tony leaned over to kissed Ziva but Adam whined as he saw it. Tony looked surprised. He asked: <br/>-“I can’t kiss Ima ?”<br/>Adam shook his head. Tony tried to kiss Ziva again but he was stopped by Adam who grabbed his face with his little chubby hands and pushed it away from his mother’s face. Ziva laughed at her son’s reaction. Tony asked:<br/>-“Adam is the only one allowed to have Ima’s kisses ?<br/>The little boy nodded:<br/>-“oh I see you want Ima for yourself ? But I met her before you buddy” he paused and then asked: “Who’s Ima’s in love with ?”<br/>-“Ada”<br/>-“Ima is in love with Adam ?”<br/>Adam nodded. He then stood up, helped by his father's hands and as he tried to walk to get into his mother’s arm, he stumbled and fell right on Tony’s groin. Tony winced and moaned loudly: <br/>-“right into the baby maker” <br/>Ziva laughed and grabbed her son from Tony and said: <br/>-“he’s sending you a message.. no other male DiNozzo allowed in this house”  <br/>Tony was still trying to calm the pain and moaned: <br/>-“we’ll see about that..”</p><p> </p><p>It was dinner time at the Dinozzos. Ziva was feeding Adam in his baby chair. She was holding the spoon in front of Adam’s mouth and he was obviously not really cooperative. Her mouth was opened to encourage Adam to do the same. Tony briefly made fun of her before she threw her deadly look that immediately made him stop. He poured some water in his glass and took a sip. It’s the exact moment that Tali chose to ask out loud: <br/>-“where do babies come from ?”<br/>Tony instantly spat out the water all over the table and coughed. Ziva bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. Tali was surprised by her father’s reaction. Tony looked at Ziva and Tali with guilty eyes and apologized: <br/>-“sorry… I was not ready for that”<br/>Tali turned to her mother and asked: <br/>-“did I say something wrong ?”<br/>Ziva kissed her forehead and said: <br/>-“no sweetheart don’t worry. We are all very impatient to hear aba explain you where babies come from”<br/>And she turned to Tony, waiting for him to handle this. Tony winced to thank her for the gift and cleared his throat:<br/>-“hm … well… you see… to make a baby you need two people.. adult people… very adult.. not teenagers people…” Ziva squinted her eyes, she was trying to figure out where this was leading to. Tony continued “adult people that are in love.. and then they are so in love that they do... things together...” <br/>Ziva smiled and cut him off: <br/>-“things ? What kind of things ?”<br/>Tony winced again. She was clearly not here to help him: <br/>-“things that only very adult people can do…”<br/>Ziva leaned on the countertop right behind Tali and bit her lip in a very teasing way. Tony squinted his eyes and focused back on his explanation but Tali asked:<br/>-“in the bedroom ?”<br/>Tony and Ziva both turned to Tali with surprised eyes. Tony stammered:<br/>-“yes.. yes in the bedroom…among others…” he shook his head and said: “but that does not matter ok.. what matters is that you need two adult people very in love with each other and then they do things and nine months later a baby arrives” <br/>Ziva was fighting the urge to burst out laughing. Tali was not really convinced by his explanation. Ziva walked to Tony and whispered: <br/>-“you were far more explicit the night we did Adam… mon petit pois..”<br/>She pinched his buttock which made him jump. </p><p>Ziva walked through the orange corridors leading to the bullpen. She stopped when she saw her husband, hidden on the corner, peeking in the direction of the bullpen. She sneakily walked to him and stopped right behind him. She leaned over and said: <br/>-“what are you doing ?”<br/>Tony jumped:<br/>-“JEEZ Ziva ! How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that !”<br/>She squinted her eyes and asked: <br/>-“What are you up to ?”<br/>-“I am waiting for Torres..” <br/>Nick showed up at the same moment with a smirk on his face. Tony asked: <br/>-“you’ve got it ?”<br/>Nick threw a phone to Tony and said: <br/>-“of course I do. Hey Ziva”<br/>He kissed Ziva’s cheek. She suspiciously asked: <br/>-“what is it ?”<br/>Nick started: <br/>-“it’s..”<br/>But Tony stopped him: <br/>-“shhh! Don’t tell her, she betrayed me once… A stupid online fake girlfriend thing… long story.. I’ve lost 20 bucks because of her”<br/>Ziva looked offended by Tony’s mistrust. He was typing some things on the phone when Ziva said: <br/>-“you’re gonna tell it to me… one way or another…”<br/>She was looking pretty serious and Tony had no desire to discover how she was planning on making him confess. He sighed and said: <br/>-“Alright… this is McGee’s phone. I am replacing every name in his contact list by Star Wars characters’ names”<br/>Ziva couldn’t refrain from smiling and then asked: <br/>-“Is this your revenge for Chewie ?”<br/>-“of course it is. His evil monster cost me 4 pairs of expensive Italian shoes” <br/>He typed a few more names and victoriously said: <br/>-“And done !”<br/>He threw the phone back to Nick who immediately went back to the bullpen. Tony and Ziva both looked at Nick putting the phone back in place and Tony said: <br/>-“I can’t wait to see his face when Darth Vader is gonna call him” <br/>Ziva rolled her eyes in despair. </p><p> </p><p>Tony and Ziva were working on a fake crime scenes with a group of trainees when they heard McGee’s voice coming from the corridor:<br/>-“TONY !”<br/>Tony smirked and said: <br/>-“sounds like our little probie-wan Kenobi has received a call from the dark lord”<br/>McGee rushed in, holding his phone in front of him: <br/>-“you did this ??!!!”<br/>Tony stood up and turned to the trainees with a wide smile: <br/>-“oh look who’s there. King of probies. What can I do for you McNumberOneProbie ?”<br/>-“this is not funny Tony, I had very important phone numbers. How am I gonna know who’s calling me now ?”<br/>-“I’m sure you’ll find a way McGeek, you always do. You’re gonna bypass stuff and encrypt some binary things and Voila !”<br/>McGee looked at him with doubtful eyes: <br/>-“you have no idea what you’re talking about right ?”<br/>The trainees were all looking at the scene. Tony turned to them, waved at them so they would go back to work and barked: <br/>-“Who told you to stop investigating ! Move along, there's nothing to see here” he turned his attention back to McGee: “you should have thought about that before offering a dog to my daughter McIntrouble. I told you we are at war !”<br/>McGee’s phone rang. They both looked at the phone, McGee with a worried face and Tony with a smirk. Tony looked at the name on the phone and laughed. He gave a tap on McGee’s back and as he walked away, still laughing, he said: <br/>-“don’t make Princess Leia wait..”<br/>Tony laughed out loud which made McGee even more upset. McGee answered the phone and barked: <br/>-“WHAT ?!” His face changed instantly “Director ? I’m sorry… no.. it’s because of DiNozzo… yes I’m on my way” </p><p>Tony came back home after a long day of work. Ziva was already home. She had picked up the kids from school and daycare, and was now in the kitchen preparing diner. Tony was obviously exhausted. He walked to his wife, kissed her and grabbed some meat from the pan. Ziva slapped his hand to stop him:<br/>-“ouch !”<br/>-“this is for dinner !”<br/>-“I am hungry”<br/>-“you are always hungry” he tried to steal some food again and Ziva cursed: “Stop bothering me and go kiss your daughter.. she has something to ask you” <br/>Tony grumbled and walked out of the kitchen. <br/>Tali was in her bedroom. Tony opened the door and said: <br/>-“knock knock! I’m looking for my little princess.. have you seen her ?” <br/>A wide smile spread on Tali’s face. Her mother’s smile. The same that she had every time she saw her father. She jumped to her feet and ran to him:<br/>-“ABAAAAAAAA”<br/>She jumped, Tony caught her and raised her above his head. Tony used to do that when she was a toddler but she was growing up and she was not becoming lighter with time. Tony asked: <br/>-“Ima told me you wanted to ask me something ?”<br/>-“yes !”<br/>Tony put her back on the floor, she rushed to her desk and came back with a sheet of paper. Tony took it. It was a drawing of him and her. She had drawn him with his usual suit and her with a princess dress. On top of it was written “father &amp; daughter dance”. <br/>Tony asked: <br/>-“you did this at school ?”<br/>Tali shyly nodded. She asked: <br/>-“Will you come with me to the father daughter dance party ?”<br/>Tony smiled and knelt beside his daughter: <br/>-“there is nothing on this earth that will stop me from being there with you” <br/>Tali’s smile spread again on her face and she jumped at her father’s neck to hug him. </p><p>Ziva’s voice raised from downstairs:<br/>-“Dinner’s ready !”<br/>Tony was still kneeling when Tali jumped on his back. Tony chuckled. He was tired and his back was already painful but he didn’t mind. If taking his daughter downstairs on his back was making her happy then so be it. Tali locked her arms around her father’s neck. He asked: <br/>-“Where do we go, m’lady ?” <br/>Tali enthusiastically shouted:<br/>-“To the kitchen !”</p><p>Tony entered the living room with Tali still on his back. He gently dropped her on a chair. <br/>Ziva smiled and asked: <br/>-“what did he say ?”<br/>Tali was so proud to announce: <br/>-“aba said yes !”<br/>Tony gave a kiss to Adam and said: <br/>-“of course I said yes, I wouldn’t miss that for anything”<br/>Tali was so excited, she was looking so much like Abby when she was speaking frenetically like that: <br/>-“there will be a photo booth and.. and I’m gonna wear a dress and there will be a hula hoop contest and…”<br/>Tony smiled: <br/>-“do you know your father is a champion at hula hoop”<br/>Tali stopped her monologue and laughed: <br/>-“no you’re not !”<br/>Tony looked offended:<br/>-“you don’t believe me ? You’ll see. Your father is going to be a rockstar, all your friends are gonna be jealous.. you’ll see”<br/>Ziva, behind Tony, moved her hand next to her temple and did a sign to mime Tony’s silliness while she mouthed: “he is not” <br/>Tali burst out laughing. Tony turned to face his wife and said: <br/>-“what did you do ?”<br/>-“nothing my love” <br/>And she nonchalantly left a kiss on his lips but Tony was not a fool, he said: <br/>-“you’re not believing me, are you ?”<br/>Ziva smiled and answered:<br/>-“I would be ready to pay a lot of money to see that with my own eyes..”</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few days later. It was late. Ziva was on the phone with Abby. She was trying to reassure her while she was herself very worried. The door of the emergency entrance opened and she rushed inside. Mcgee saw her and walked to her. Ziva promised Abby that she will call her back as soon as she knows more and hung up the phone. <br/>-“Where is he ?”<br/>-“Don’t worry he’s fine”<br/>-“what happened ?”<br/>-“He had a car accident right outside the Navy Yard” McGee saw Ziva’s face and added “but I’m telling you, he is fine. Just a few bruises” <br/>Ziva looked upset: <br/>-“you are lying to me McGee !”<br/>McGee stammered:<br/>-“I’m.. I’m not.. I wouldn’t dare” <br/>The way Ziva was looking at McGee made his blood run cold. He stammered again: <br/>-“ok.. it’s maybe more than just a few bruises…”<br/>Ziva had heard enough, she bitterly asked: <br/>-“where ?”<br/>McGee stammered again: <br/>-“ro...room 203”<br/>As he finished his sentence Ziva rushed in the direction of her husband’s room. McGee cursed himself and added: <br/>-“but he is still very annoying so he’s fine!”<br/>As Ziva reached the room 203 she grabbed the handle and McGee stopped her:<br/>-“Wait! You have to prepare yourself….”<br/>Ziva looked scared:<br/>-“McGee let me in !”<br/>She pushed him out of the way and entered the room. She found her husband standing in the middle of the room, naked with his hospital gown wrapped as a toga. He was trying to catch some invisible things on the ceiling with a half-witted look on his face. <br/>McGee whispered: <br/>-“they gave him morphine …”<br/>Ziva sighed:<br/>-“yes McGee… I can see that…” </p><p>As Tony saw his wife he smiled like an idiot:⠀<br/>-“hey. Look ! Here’s my wife”⠀<br/>Ziva and McGee walked to him. McGee sighed and said:⠀<br/>-“Tony the nurse told you a thousand times to stay in bed. Don’t make me call her again” ⠀<br/>Tony looked like a worried child:⠀<br/>-“no don’t call her again ! That woman is evil. But I have my wife now, she’s gonna kick her ass” ⠀<br/>Ziva’s eyes narrowed: ⠀<br/>-“Tony get in bed NOW or I put you back in it myself” ⠀<br/>Tony’s smirked and Ziva instantly regretted her sentence. As he was about to make a smartass answer she said: ⠀<br/>-“don’t !” ⠀<br/>But it was too late. He was too high on morphine to be able to stop himself. He said with come-hither eyes:⠀<br/>-“you want to tuck me in Sweetcheeks?”⠀<br/>And he laughed. Ziva sighed. Tony was usually acting like a teenager full of hormones and apparently morphine was amplifying that aspect of his personality. ⠀<br/>She helped him get back to bed and he asked McGee: ⠀<br/>-“how’s my car McGee ?”⠀<br/>McGee looked sorry. Tony looked horrified:⠀<br/>-“oh no… not again”⠀<br/>And McGee nodded sorrowfully. Tony rested his head on the pillow and said as if he was suddenly realizing something: ⠀<br/>-“I am a car killer”⠀<br/>Ziva said: ⠀<br/>-“and you are just realizing this now ?”⠀<br/>Tony raised his head rapidly from the pillow. He winced and moaned as he felt as if his brain had been smashed in his skull: ⠀<br/>-“a little compassion here! I am mourning!”⠀</p><p>When Ziva walked to the front door, Gibbs opened the door and welcomed her inside. She had dropped her kids off to Gibbs’ place after she got the call from McGee. She knew that he would still be up at such a late time of the day. Gibbs asked:<br/>-”How is he ?” <br/>-”He has a concussion and a cerebral edema. The doctor says that it’s small but he wants to monitor him to be sure that it’s not gonna get bigger. But you know... He is still Tony. He is more worried about his car than his own condition. How is she ?”<br/>-”She asked a lot of questions..”<br/>Ziva was worried about Tali. Adam was too young to realize what was going on but Tali, she was as clever as her mother. When Ziva had answered the call, she had a hard time trying to hide her concern and Tali knew it had to be related to her father. Tony had that same look every time Ziva was calling him when she was on the run.<br/>Ziva rubbed her face with her palms and sighed:<br/>-”thank you Gibbs for watching over them.. I should let you get some rest now”<br/>Gibbs stopped her from picking Adam up and said:<br/>-”Don’t. Let them sleep. Tali is upstairs. You should go with her. I’ll handle him. You need to rest too”  <br/>She hesitated for a moment. She knew this was the right thing to do but she also knew that Gibbs liked his time alone too. She finally agreed: <br/>-”Thank you Gibbs.” <br/>She squeezed his forearm in appreciation, she gave a kiss to Adam without waking him up and walked upstairs. Gibbs checked on Adam and laid on the couch to get a few hours of sleep. </p><p>The next morning. It was pretty early. Ziva put on her coat and thanked Gibbs again. She was about to leave when Tali showed up at the bottom of the stairs. Her hair was a mess and she had half awake eyes. She rubbed her eyes and asked her mother: <br/>-“why can’t I come with you ? I want to see Aba”<br/>Ziva’s heart broke into millions of pieces. She walked to her daughter and knelt: <br/>-“I know baby” she rearranged her daughter’s hair and continued “It’s not a place for children. I will tell Aba to call you ok” <br/>-“you promise ?” <br/>She raised her pinky finger in front of her face. Ziva smiled and entwined her pinky finger around it. <br/>-“I promise” <br/>She hugged her daughter and said: <br/>-“Aba is fine. He misses you a lot too”<br/>Gibbs knew he had to distract Tali so that Ziva could leave. He said:<br/>-“Come on Tal’ let’s make some pancakes for breakfast” <br/>As she watched her mother leave she shouted:<br/>-“WAIT !”<br/>And she ran upstairs and came back a few seconds later with Kelev in her hands. She handed it out to Ziva: <br/>-“can you give it to Aba ?”<br/>Ziva smiled. Her daughter was definitely the kindest human being on earth. She took Tali’s stuffed dog and said: <br/>-“Aba will be very touched by this” <br/>She kissed Tali’s forehead and walked to her car with Kelev in her arm. </p><p> </p><p>Ziva walked inside the room. Tony was still asleep. She sat on the chair next to him. She placed her head on his arm, grabbed his hand and closed her eyes. She was missing him. His arms. His hands. His smell. Running her fingers through his hair. If someone had told her fifteen years ago that someday, someone would become so essential to her, she would have probably called them crazy. She could not live without him anymore. <br/>She fell asleep and woke up half an hour later when Tony moved his hand. She raised her head and looked at him. He blinked and moaned as the light blinded him for a second. Ziva cupped his face and asked: <br/>-“hey. How do you feel ?”<br/>Tony looked at her and said: <br/>-“who are you ?”<br/>He could clearly see Ziva’s panic. He smiled mischievously. Ziva’s worried face turned into a glare. <br/>She punched his arm with as much force as she could. Tony moaned and laughed. Ziva cursed: <br/>-“DON’T EVER DO THAT AGAIN YOU JERK !”<br/>And she punched him again: <br/>“Ouch ! Ouch !! I’m sorry ! I could not resist. Please stop punching me” <br/>Ziva looked at him with her furious look still on. She was furious at herself too. She should have known. After 15 years, she was still getting tricked by him. <br/>She said:<br/>-“I hate you !”<br/>Tony smiled and raised from the pillow to reach her face: <br/>-“no you don’t, Sweetcheeks” <br/>After giving her a tender kiss, Tony noticed his daughter’s stuffed dog: <br/>-“what’s my buddy Kelev doing here ?”<br/>-“Tali wants you to have it. She’s very worried and she misses you a lot” <br/>Tony was moved by this attention from his daughter. Kelev was the only thing she had left from her childhood in Israel. She was never leaving him. She had associated it with her mother when Ziva was gone. Losing Kelev would have been like losing her mother again. Back in the days, Tony had some frightening moments looking for Kelev everywhere as his daughter was in tears because she could not sleep without it. She had been sleeping with it every night since she was born and today she accepted to sleep without it for a good reason. </p><p> </p><p>Ziva opened the front door of Gibbs’ house. She walked in with Tony by her side. They were laughing at the nurse’s reaction when she saw him with a stuffed dog. Tali ran to them, yelling “ABAAAAA” and she crashed into her father’s legs. Tony struggled to keep his balance. Tali was hugging him tightly. He lifted her up in his arms and hugged her: <br/>-“how’s my princess ?”<br/>-“Good ! I’ve missed you!”<br/>-“oh I’ve missed you even more” <br/>-“I’ve missed you more ! I’ve missed you that much” <br/>She used her hands do show her father how much she had missed him. Tony did the same: <br/>-“And I’ve missed you that much !”<br/>Tony spread his arms as much as he could with Tali still in his arms: <br/>-“you can’t beat that !”<br/>The little girl chuckled and hugged her father. Tony asked:<br/>-“Have you received my picture with Kelev ? That little guy had a lot of effect on everyone. I was the rockstar of the hospital you know”<br/>Tali smiled and nodded vigorously. As Tony put her back down, she asked with her pleading eyes and voice: <br/>-“Will you still be able to come with me to the dance party ?” <br/>-“I’ve told you nothing could keep me from coming with you and I intend to keep that promise. Plus I have a hula hoop contest to win” </p><p> </p><p>3 days later. Tony had recovered from his accident but he was still mourning his car. He was sitting on the couch, scrolling through possible cars to buy. Tonight was the father daughter dance party at Tali’s school. Tali was upstairs with her mother, getting ready for the party. Tony heard a car on the driveway. They were not waiting on anyone tonight. He walked to the window and saw a shiny yellow Dodge Challenger parked in front of his house. Gibbs stepped out of the car. Tony walked out from the house to greet him:<br/>-”Hey boss ! you’re taking this bad boy out for a ride ?”<br/>Gibbs smirked:<br/>-”Someone told me it was Tali’s first dance party tonight”<br/>-”It is… I don’t know which one of us is the most nervous about it..”<br/>Gibbs threw the car keys to Tony. Tony caught them and looked at Gibbs with surprised eyes. Gibbs said:<br/>-”you need a proper car to take your daughter to her dance..”<br/>Tony was speechless. This car had a strong history. Gibbs’ father restored it for his son and now Gibbs’ was giving it to Tony. Tony was still looking for something to say when the front door opened and Tali rushed out to them in her white dress and her pale pink headband to hold her wild hair in place. <br/>Ziva followed her with Adam walking by her side and Chewie running around. Tony said:<br/>-”Wow ! who’s that beautiful girl. Come on let me see that dress”<br/>Tali spun around to show her dress. Tony sighed:<br/>-”David’s daughters with dresses.. Always making a good impression”<br/>Ziva smiled and looked at her daughter with pride. She asked:<br/>-”What’s going on here ?”<br/>Gibbs looked at Tali and said:<br/>-”I’ve heard someone was going to her first dance tonight .. I did not wanted to miss that”<br/>Tony looked at his watch and said:<br/>-”right! We have the princess, we have the carriage, now we should go before it’s too late”<br/>Tony and Tali were about to go to the car when Ziva said:<br/>-”WAIT! I want a picture” <br/>Both Tony and Tali rolled their eyes at Ziva’s cheesiness but they agreed anyway. Tony grabbed Tali and lifted her up in his arms. He stood still in front of the car while Ziva was taking the picture. Once the picture was taken, Tony glaced at Gibbs. He smiled and nodded as a way to thank him for this gift that meant a lot. Gibbs and Ziva looked at the car as it backed down the driveway and disappeared. </p><p> </p><p>Tony and Tali walked to the entrance of the gymnasium where the party was set. As they walked near the entrance, a boy came to them. When Tali saw him, a large smile spread on her face. The boy smiled back at her and said:<br/>-”Hey Tal’. Hi mister DiNozzo”<br/>Tony was looking at him with suspicious eyes and coldly answered:<br/>-”Hi..” <br/>The boy kissed Tali’s cheek and Tali instantly blushed. Tony’s heart skipped a beat. A boy was kissing his daughter. How could this be possible, she was still a baby. The boy walked away and Tony said:<br/>-”I thought it was a father-daughter dance” <br/>Tali nonchalantly answered:<br/>-”yes!”<br/>-”Then what is he doing here ?” <br/>-”Girls are dancing and boys do stewardship. It’s the rules” <br/>Tony was not convinced:<br/> -”hm… Wasn’t that the Jefferson’s boy ?” <br/>Tali rolled her eyes:<br/>-”His name is Alex..”<br/>-”And what happened to punching him because he is not nice ?”<br/>Tony suddenly felt ashamed that he might regret that her daughter was not punching boys anymore. <br/>-”He is nice.. He’s my boyfriend now”<br/>Tony coughed as he heard her last words:<br/>-”Your what ? No no no.. You can’t… I mean…”  <br/>Tony nervously chuckled. Tali was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. <br/>-”Ima said you would make a big deal about this. She said that this reminded her of you and her when you first met” <br/>Tony cursed Ziva for not telling him about this. <br/>-“remind me to talk about this to your mom when we get home”<br/>-“Can I go see my friends now ?”<br/>Before Tony had time to answer Tali was running to her friends, leaving him with his thoughts about his baby growing up. He was not ready for her to not need him anymore. He was not ready for her to become a woman one day. He had not given his permission for that. </p><p> </p><p>Tony was waiting near the bar with a bunch of other fathers overwhelmed by the situation. <br/>A man walked to Tony and said: <br/>-”no alcohol and they have the nerves to call that a bar” <br/>Tony chuckled: <br/>-”I wouldn't say no to a glass of strong scotch”<br/>-”Why alcohol is always forbidden when we actually need it the most ? Like their birth for exemple.. Men need booze to survive delivery..”<br/>Tony remembered:<br/>-“..and first time we have to deal with them on our own..”<br/>-“oh god I almost peed in my pants when my wife left the house” <br/>-“same here..” Tony bitterly add “first boyfriend…”<br/>-“ohh tough one I don’t know how I’m gonna react when this happens.. which one is yours ?”<br/>Tony pointed at Tali:<br/>-“that one over there” <br/>-“oh Tali. She’s a great kid. My daughter loves her” <br/>-“thanks” <br/>As they were talking about their daughters, a woman walked on stage and asked for all the dads to join their daughters for a dance. Tony joined Tali. As the music started Tali stepped on her father's feet to dance with him:  <br/>-“Remember when you were younger, and you were dancing with me like that in the middle of the living room ?” <br/>Tali nodded. <br/>-“you were a baby and now look at you… Who are you and what have you done with my baby ?” <br/>Tony tickled Tali’s side which made her laugh. <br/>-“I’m torn between wanting you to stay my little baby girl forever and being excited about all the amazing things you’ll accomplish in this life.. Your mom and I we’ll always be there to support you. Your mom has proven that enough. Just remember to pick the right person to dance with and you’ll be fine… and don’t grow up too fast, it’s a trap.. your dad is not ready for you to leave him yet”<br/>Tali smiled and hugged her father. They kept dancing slowly. Tali on Tony’s feet just like when she was 5 years old in Paris. </p><p> </p><p>Tali fell asleep immediately after they left the party. Tony lifted her from the car and got her upstairs. He laid her down on her bed, still on her dress and took a second to look at his baby girl with eyes full of pride. He kissed her forehead and whispered: ⠀<br/>-“goodnight princess” ⠀<br/>He quietly walked out and stopped by Adam’s room. He could hear his breath. He looked at him and before leaving he whispered: ⠀<br/>-“don’t grow up too fast too” ⠀<br/>His next stop was his bed. It was late and he was exhausted. He entered the room and was welcomed by his wife’s smile. She asked: ⠀<br/>-“how did it go ?”⠀<br/>He sat on the bed and took his shoes off:⠀<br/>-“well.. I am not as young as I used to be, I didn’t know any of the songs they played but I still have some great hula hoop skills” ⠀<br/>Ziva wrapped his arms around his neck from behind and said:⠀<br/>-“oh my god I can’t believe I’ve missed that” ⠀<br/>Tony unbuttoned his shirt and said:⠀<br/>-“You could have told me about Tali’s boyfriend” ⠀<br/>She laid back down on the mattress and said:⠀<br/>-“Oh I knew you would make such a big deal about it”⠀<br/>-“Of course I make a big deal about it” ⠀<br/>-“come on Tony, he is just a boy she likes, it’s not like he’s gonna propose to her” ⠀<br/>-“He better not” ⠀<br/>Ziva chuckled, bit her lip and said: ⠀<br/>-“look at you, papa bear, feeling threatened that his cute baby daughter might be taken away from him by another man” ⠀<br/>-“stop mocking me ! We’ll see how you feel when your son meets a pretty girl whom you don’t feel is ‘good enough’ for him. We’ll see if mama bear doesn’t show her teeth”⠀<br/>-“leave my son out of this, he is just a baby. I will teach him how to pick the right girl”⠀<br/>Tony chuckled: ⠀<br/>-“and he’s probably gonna pick the opposite” ⠀<br/>Ziva gave him a light punch on the shoulder. He laid down next to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and place her head on his chest. He caressed her hair. ⠀<br/>Ziva said:⠀<br/>-“They will be our babies forever.. even when they leave the house and get married” ⠀<br/>Tony chuckle:⠀<br/>-“can you imagine the wedding speech: ‘her mother slashed my parents tires’“⠀<br/>Tony moaned as Ziva pinched his side and they both laughed at the idea. ⠀</p>
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